www.thestatesman.com | FOLLOW US: India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | @TheStatesmanLtd Pages 12 | ` 5.00 Perspective Where the Goddess walks among us @thestatesmanltd | KOLKATA People’s Parliament, Always in Session thestatesman1875 | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | 11 October 2026 S P O RT S World Another run fest looms as India face WI in Indore Page 9 Page 6 Trump strikes deal with Putin to get diesel in reversal of US policy Page 12 Hundreds detained in crackdown, National Capital turned into fortress PARWINDER SANDHU SFI, CJP announce daily marches to Jantar Mantar, nationwide protests: New Delhi, 10 October A planned demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls triggered widespread detentions, traffic restrictions and a massive security deployment across Delhi on Saturday, with several INDIA bloc leaders, Left organisations, students and activists taken into custody as they tried to reach Jantar Mantar. Former chief ministers Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar were among those detained at different locations. Others taken into custody included CPI-M general secretary M A Baby, veteran Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI-ML Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and lawyer New Delhi: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and other student organisations on Saturday announced daily marches to Jantar Mantar and a nationwide expansion of student protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his removal over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde said the organisations would organise marches to Jantar Mantar every day until Mr Kumar was removed from the post of Chief Election Commissioner. He also alleged that Delhi Police had subjected Abhijeet Dipke and other protesters to inhumane treatment during detention. Prashant Bhushan. The demonstration was called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) along with Left and student organisations to demand Mr Kumar’s resignation and the withdrawal of the SIR exercise. The protesters also raised concerns over changes relating to Form 6, used for voter registration, alleging that the electoral roll revision process threatened voting rights. The police action began before the proposed gathering, with the CJP alleging that its founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke, spokesperson Saurav Das and co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka were detained aboard their flight from Mumbai shortly after it landed in Delhi. In a video released by the CJP, Mr Dipke was heard telling police personnel entering the aircraft: “We are here to be arrested, come and arrest us.” Aishe Ghosh, national joint secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) , was detained near Gurudwara Bangla Sahib’s Gol Chakkar. The CJP alleged that police entered the gurdwara premises and detained volunteers who had taken shelter there. Mamata Banerjee was detained in the South Avenue area along with Trinamul leaders Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen and other party members. Mr Vijayan, who was also detained, accused the BJP-led NDA government of using police and paramilitary forces to restrict democratic dissent. The SFI alleged that police used force against demonstrators during two marches organised with the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and other Left organisations, leaving several protesters injured. Separately, the Supreme Court Bar Association sought the intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following reports that lawyers had been detained during a protest near the Supreme Court. BJP labels INDIA bloc, CJP ‘anarchists’, alleges plot to destabilise India STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 10 October The BJP on Saturday accused the Rahul Gandhi-led INDIA bloc and the CJP of attempting to destabilise the country, calling them “anarchist” groups and asserting that the protests were “driven by political motives and foreign forces.” The party also accused Mr Gandhi of “disrespecting constitutional institutions by using a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to make false claims.”“It is highly unusual in this country for sources close to the President to explicitly state that the remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) regarding the President are incorrect. Rahul Gandhi, your falsehoods have now been exposed even by sources close to the President,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said. BJP president Nitin Nabin alleged that a “dangerous anarchic battle” was being waged by the INDIA bloc and the CJP to disrupt the country’s peace, harmony and development. “Frustrated by being repeatedly rejected by the public in our democracy, the Opposition is now hatching a deep conspiracy to spread instability and anarchy in Bharat at the behest of foreign powers,” he said. He added that these groups were unable to accept the country’s progress and emergence as a strong, self-reliant nation despite global crises. “On one side, the INDIA bloc led by Rahul Gandhi, and on the other, groups like Arvind Kejriwal’s ally CJP, have joined hands and are engaged in a dangerous anarchic competition to disrupt the peace, harmony, and rapid development of the nation,” he told the media. Mr Prasad said the events of the preceding three days and Saturday had demonstrated that Indian democracy had defeated attempts to promote anarchy, citing the BJP’s electoral performance in Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry.