India's youth-led Cockroach movement launched nationwide protests on Friday, with thousands gathering in Mumbai under heavy police presence to challenge changes to the voter roll.
The movement, which operates under the name Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), called for the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Protesters cited concerns that millions of citizens are being unfairly stripped of voting rights through the voter roll changes.
The Cockroach movement has built substantial support among India's Gen Z population. Friday's action represents a renewed push by the youth-led organization to challenge what it characterizes as electoral irregularities.
The scale of the alleged disenfranchisement remains unclear from the available detail, though the movement's framing suggests the impact affects a significant portion of India's electorate. Heavy police deployment at the Mumbai gathering indicates official awareness of the protest's scale or potential.
This marks a notable mobilization of younger voters around electoral access in India, though the specific mechanics of the voter roll changes and their geographic scope are not detailed in the available information.