CJP protest — Security personnel march along a road during an agitation called by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities, in New Delhi, Saturday, October 10. PTI

‘Undeclared Emergency’: Opposition leaders slam Modi govt over detentions in Delhi

CPI(M) leaders, including former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, and several others were detained amid a security clampdown in the national capital

The Federal
10 Oct 2026 2:53 PM IST

Opposition leaders on Saturday (October 10) slammed the Narendra Modi government after Delhi Police detained several leaders of various political parties and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Delhi Police detained them ahead of the proposed CJP protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

CPI(M) leaders, including former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, and several others were detained amid a security clampdown in the national capital.

Follow live updates of CJP protest here

Also, CJP leaders including its founder Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Rana and Saurav Das were detained upon their arrival in Delhi.

The detentions drew condemnation on social media from various political leaders, with some terming the situation in Delhi as “undeclared Emergency”.

Political reactions

“Those detained will have to be released. And if the protesters simply return on Monday, will the authorities lock down the national capital all over again? Our GenZ deserves better than an undeclared Emer-GenZ (sic),” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor posted on X (Formerly Twitter).

“Barricades will do nothing to restore faith in the Election Commission, and the sooner it answers the public's questions, the sooner calm will be restored,” he added.

“Look at the extent to which the BJP will go to protect one individual -- Mr Gyanesh Kumar… The youth are protesting; their minds are protesting; their hearts are protesting; their families are supporting them. And they are the voters in the next election… The BJP will realise that suppression and denial of fundamental rights is not the way to win or retain power,” senior Congress leader P Chidambaram posted on X.

‘Is this an undeclared Emergency?’

NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule condemned the detention of Dipke, "I condemn this. A battle for constitutional principles is being fought within the framework of the Constitution in this country; these people were making their way to Delhi peacefully... What were their demands? They were simply going peacefully... the wrongful manner in which the police detained them is incorrect and unconstitutional."

She added, "I fear—is this an undeclared Emergency? We all lived through the Emergency in this country.”

Vijayan, who was detained in Delhi, slammed the Modi government and said democracy was under attack.

“When those in power fear the voice of the people, democracy itself is under attack. The Modi government and the Sangh Parivar must understand that repression can never extinguish the people’s resolve to defend their rights. Thousands have gathered to defend the Constitution and the right to vote, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Barricades may block the streets, but they cannot halt the march of democracy. No force can silence the people determined to defend their democratic rights,” Vijayan said.

Delhi turned into ‘open prison’: Vijayan

In a Facebook post shared after being taken into custody, Leader of Opposition in the Keralam Assembly Vijayan accused the NDA government of turning the national capital into an "open prison" and attempting to suppress protests through the deployment of armed police and paramilitary forces.

Vijayan alleged that the protest was against attempts, with the support of those in power, to undermine people's voting rights, which he described as the foundation of democracy.

DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin too attacked the Modi government over detentions in Delhi and called for their immediate release.

“The scenes unfolding in Delhi today, and the scale of repression being unleashed against peaceful protesters, bring back painful memories of the Emergency that I lived through. All political leaders, students and young protesters detained in Delhi and across the country must be released immediately. The Union Government must immediately end its assault on the youth who are peacefully exercising their democratic right to protest. Dissent is not a crime, and democracy cannot survive by silencing those who rise to defend it,” Stalin said.

Kejriwal demands Modi’s resignation

AAP’s national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also slammed the detention of CJP leaders and termed the situation in the national capital “worse than the Emergency”. He asked for the resignations of CEC Kumar and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“This is worse than the Emergency. It’s official.. we are living under an absolute dictatorship ruled by Modi. Arresting cockroaches straight off their flight shows an unprecedented level of fear. PM Modi clearly knows he only won the election through vote chori and now he is hell-bent on protecting his fraud by completely crushing democracy. Gyanesh must go, but so must Modi,” Kejriwal said.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said the Modi government was fighting its own people. “There is nothing left to say. The government is fighting its own people and running away from its core responsibilities. People are being picked up from different places, and security is deployed everywhere... In my 40 years of participating in various protests, I have never seen Delhi brought to such a standstill,” Jha told ANI news agency.

‘Delhi under siege’

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti accused the BJP-led Central government of passing off "enforced silence" as consent, as she drew parallels between the heavy security clampdown in Delhi and the restrictions imposed across Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

"Today's Delhi is a chilling reminder of Kashmir after the unconstitutional abrogation of Article 370. People were locked in their homes, the internet was shut down, and an entire region was placed under siege. The BJP then brazenly claimed that nobody had protested," Mehbooba said in a post on X.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said that after "crushing" the protest, the ruling establishment would claim that there were no protests.

"Today, with Delhi under siege, trains halted and roads to Jantar Mantar sealed, they may repeat the same lie, claiming that nobody protested against Gyanesh Kumar. First crush the protest, then deny it ever happened. This is how enforced silence is passed off as consent," she added.

I returned to the national capital after 2 am and have rarely seen anything like what Delhi is witnessing now, with checkpoints every few hundred metres, concrete barriers and spike strips laid across our roads, a war-like deployment of 22,000 police and paramilitary across the city, 250 trains cancelled and 45 metro stations closed, and reports of young people being detained from their own homes and the streets in and around Delhi -- all to prevent citizens from peacefully raising questions about the integrity of our elections. Most regressive (as well as repressive) is the suspension of the internet in the heart of the national capital. Freedom of movement stands completely shackled. Jantar Mantar was designated precisely so that citizens could voice dissent in the centre of Delhi, and today even the roads leading to it have been declared out of bounds. One is entitled to ask where this extraordinary manpower and urgency disappear when women in our capital need protection. Those detained will hvre to be released .And if the protesters simply return on Monday, will the authorities lock down the national capital all over again? Our GenZ deserves better than an undeclared Emer-GenZ. A government confident in the fairness of its elections would welcome questions about them, whereas one that turns its capital into a fortress to avoid them only deepens the very suspicions it seeks to suppress. The government should provide answers, not lathis; expression, not repression. Barricades will do nothing to restore faith in the Election Commission, and the sooner it answers the public's questions, the sooner calm will be restored. The strength of a democracy is measured by how it treats those who question its working, and by that measure, what we have seen today is utterly shameful and unconscionable. https://t.co/C3jkLU1dm1 @INCIndia
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 10, 2026

Look at the extent to which the BJP will go to protect one individual -- Mr Gyanesh Kumar They will lock down metro stations -- 42 or 57 -- and disrupt the lives of millions of commuters They will transport thousands of police troops from far away states to Delhi They will shut down Internet They will deny the right to protest peacefully The youth are protesting; their minds are protesting; their hearts are protesting; their families are supporting them. And they are the voters in the next election The BJP will realize that suppression and denial of fundamental rights is not the way to win or retain power
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 10, 2026

When those in power fear the voice of the people, democracy itself is under attack. The Modi government and the Sangh Parivar must understand that repression can never extinguish the people’s resolve to defend their rights. Thousands have gathered to defend the Constitution and the right to vote, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Barricades may block the streets, but they cannot halt the march of democracy. No force can silence the people determined to defend their democratic rights.
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) October 10, 2026

The scenes unfolding in Delhi today, and the scale of repression being unleashed against peaceful protesters, bring back painful memories of the Emergency that I lived through. All political leaders, students and young protesters detained in Delhi and across the country must be released immediately. I strongly condemn the TVK Government in Tamil Nadu for acting as an extension of the BJP and unleashing police repression against protesting students. The Union Government must immediately end its assault on the youth who are peacefully exercising their democratic right to protest. Dissent is not a crime, and democracy cannot survive by silencing those who rise to defend it. The resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is non-negotiable. Beyond his resignation, all the damage done to the institutional framework of the Election Commission must be undone, and its independence and integrity restored. @abhijeet_dipke @cockroachisback @nehaaisa @aishe_ghosh @dhruv_rathee
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) October 10, 2026

This is worse than the Emergency. It’s official.. we are living under an absolute dictatorship ruled by Modi. Arresting cockroaches straight off their flight shows an unprecedented level of fear. PM Modi clearly knows he only won the election through vote chori and now he is hell-bent on protecting his fraud by completely crushing democracy. Gyanesh must go, but so must Modi.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 10, 2026

Today’s Delhi is a chilling reminder of Kashmir after the unconstitutional abrogation of Article 370. People were locked in their homes, the internet was shut down, and an entire region was placed under siege. The BJP then brazenly claimed that nobody had protested. Today, with Delhi under siege, trains halted and roads to Jantar Mantar sealed, they may repeat the same lie, claiming that nobody protested against Gyanesh Kumar. First crush the protest, then deny it ever happened. This is how enforced silence is passed off as consent.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 10, 2026

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)