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PoliticsIndia

'Cockroach' movement leaders arrested ahead of protests

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Aaron Tilton
October 11, 2026

India's "Cockroach" movement says authorities arrested protest leaders and thousands of supporters ahead of a rally against a voter roll revision that removed more than 130 million names.

Members of India's "Cockroach" movement are crying foul after the Indian government banned a planned protest and arrested several of the movement's leaders. This comes as the protest movement is demanding the resignation of the head of India's election commission. The members of the movement accuse him of boxing through a controversial voter roll revision that critics say would disenfranchise millions of voters and help shore up the power of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The pressure campaign is proving to be a fresh test for Modi's government ahead of several key state elections next year.

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