The Cockroach Janta Party has accused the government of violating protesters’ rights.

New Delhi police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), popularly known as the “Cockroaches,” on Friday just as a new protest began demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, head of the Election Commission.

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The arrest took place as the leader was heading to the protest, where hundreds of demonstrators had already gathered. In a video shared by the organization on its social media accounts, several officers can be seen forcibly putting Dipke into a police vehicle and taking him away.

“This government is very afraid of young people waving the national flag! Dictatorship!” the CJP said, describing the arrest of its leader as “a serious violation of his rights.”

Police also arrested student activist Neha Bora, another prominent figure in the protest movement. She was detained in front of the Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi while leading a march toward Connaught Place.

Abhijeet Dipke was quietly leaving for protest march. Within 24 seconds, Delhi Police detained him. pic.twitter.com/dtQgBRrclG

— News Algebra (@NewsAlgebraIND) October 16, 2026

“How many people will Modi-Shah arrest? For every arrest this government makes, more young people will take to the streets!” the Cockroach Janta Party said.

To try to circumvent the heavy security deployment in the capital’s central commercial district and avoid arrests for unlawful assembly, the movement had issued instructions to its supporters hours earlier.

The instructions were to arrive in groups of fewer than five people, unfurl the Indian tricolor flag (Tiranga), take a photograph and leave peacefully to demonstrate that waving the flag “is not a crime.”

We will not be silenced, we will build Jantar Mantars everywhere ✊🔥 See you in London tomorrow, bring your tiranga bring your voice 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gez9ucwoJD

— Students' Federation of India – United Kingdom (@sfi_uk) October 15, 2026

On Friday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a statement accusing the demonstrators of seeking an “anti-national revolution” and sowing “anarchy” in the country.

The arrests have left the organization almost entirely without its leadership, adding to the detention of two other spokespeople who remain in judicial custody at Tihar Jail after taking part in a protest Tuesday at Jantar Mantar, a traditional protest site from which authorities recently withdrew that designation.

The “Cockroaches,” which emerged in May as a satirical youth movement protesting unemployment and irregularities in university examinations, have expanded their demonstrations to include a review of the electoral rolls. They are demanding the resignation of Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar, whom they hold responsible for alleged irregularities.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

Federal forces in Argentina fired tear gas and turned water cannons on thousands of peaceful demonstrators in Buenos Aires on Thursday, detaining at least 34 people during the fifth Federal University March.

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The march demanded implementation of the University Financing Law and denounced a sustained squeeze on public university budgets.

The demonstrations were replicated in dozens of Argentine cities, with students, teachers and university staff joined by unions, social organizations and environmental groups demanding the full implementation of the University Financing Law.

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Protesters also denounced a sustained budget squeeze on public universities and rejected the ninth consecutive appeal filed by Javier Milei’s administration against court rulings that order the transfer of funds to the country’s higher education institutions.

The funding dispute has dragged on for months. Courts have repeatedly instructed the government to hand over the money set aside under the University Financing Law, and each ruling has been met with a new appeal from the national government. Thursday’s march was the fifth federal mobilization in a campaign that has grown beyond campuses to include unions, social organizations and environmental groups.

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Una publicación compartida de teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)

Beyond the university budget, the crowd voiced opposition to Decree 70/23 and defended the Land Law. Speakers also called for salary increases, relief measures for indebted families and more resources for public institutions.

Arrests and Attacks on Press

According to local media, the police began repression outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires as a response to an incident of a group of about eight people, who started breaking street furniture and throwing objects against the fence surrounding Parliament. Despite being an isolated incident, the gassing affected those who marched peacefully. Witnesses warned of possible infiltrators.

At least 34 people were arrested and one woman was injured. Cameras captured a gas canister hitting her head. “The gas thing fell on my head, I don’t know how I am, I have to go to the hospital,” the woman, who gave her name as Andrea, told reporters covering the march.

For its part, the Buenos Aires City Police said in an official statement that its own force detained six people: two minors, aged 14 and 17, and four adults, three men and one woman, charged with assault and resistance to authority.

Press workers also was targeted. Photographer Guido Piotrkowski, who was covering the march, captured the moment when a Federal Police officer stepped out from behind the fence, aimed and fired at him. “They came out from behind the fences and started shooting; I was taking photos and they fired at us,” he said. “They hit me in the chest, another colleague in the leg, but they aimed directly. They were rubber pellets.”

According to the reports, another worker from a community media outlet had to be treated at a hospital after being hit by at least seven rubber bullets. Cameras from the C5N channel also recorded a man with his face covered handling a backpack in the middle of the square. When the reporter approached to speak with him, the man reacted violently and struck the cameraman.

The fifth Federal University March ended under a cloud of gas. The political dispute over who unleashed the violence now moves to Congress, where opposition lawmakers are pressing the security minister to account for the operation.

No Quorum in Congress

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Deputies failed in its attempt to debate the rejection of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency 70/23, promoted by the government of Javier Milei to support its program, by failing to reach the necessary quorum at the special session convened by opposing parties. Only 121 legislators attended the legislative day, eight fewer than the 129 required to enable treatment in the compound, with a total of 136 absences.

The opposition call gained momentum following an initial ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice that deregulated the sale of land to foreigners under the Decree 70/23, although a subsequent decision by the court itself temporarily restored the rule, argument that they used allied sectors to avoid attending the session. In parallel, the Government negotiated to include a cap on land sales to foreigners in the Inviolability of Private Property project, which was scheduled for debate on October 21.