Protests in New Delhi against the revision of electoral rolls, thousands of people detained

According to major Indian media outlets, thousands of people were detained today by police in New Delhi, where a protest by the Cockroach Party is underway against alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls, which the opposition accuses the government of. However, the figures suggested by newspapers vary. Citing its own police sources, The Hindu claims that "over 5,000 people" were detained in the Indian capital region, the Indian Express says it is "about 4,000," while according to the news agency PTI it would be "over 3,000." Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi urged young people to "keep protesting": this is reported by the French news agency AFP and the Indian agency PTI. "We are with you," said the Indian opposition leader as a protest organized by the satirical-political movement "Cockroach Party" takes place in New Delhi against the revision of the electoral rolls. The protesters are demanding the resignation of the head of the election commission, Gyanesh Kumar, over the revision of voter rolls ahead of the upcoming elections. People detained at the ongoing Cockroach Party demonstration are being taken away by officers on buses, and some of them continue to protest from there, holding up small signs from the vehicle's windows: "Cancel the revision of the electoral rolls," reads one of them. The opposition accuses the government of having illegitimately removed many people entitled to vote from the rolls. The authorities reject the accusations. In central New Delhi, there are internet connection outages in the protest area, and the media report that several trains have been cancelled. Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA