Young protesters have exposed the limits of a strongman’s authority. Crushing dissent risks deepening the democratic crisis he should confront

Narendra Modi’s heavy-handed crackdown on protests over electoral rights in Delhi appears to have backfired. Over the weekend, his government tried to crush demonstrations led by the gen Z Cockroach Janta party (CJP). It locked up thousands of young people, detained journalists and shut down the capital as if he had declared emergency rule. Abhijeet Dipke, who launched the CJP in May after India’s chief justice compared jobless youths to “cockroaches”, was detained with other leaders when he landed in Delhi. Those who did take to the Indian capital’s streets were roughed up by police or taken into custody. Even when the usually deferential supreme court ordered peaceful assembly be protected, Mr Modi’s government showed its authoritarian contempt for fundamental constitutional rights.

This was less a display of strength than a government showing its fear of voters it claims to represent. But the actions did not stop the protests. On Monday, thousands marched in Delhi, demanding the resignation of India’s election chief over reports that the names of more than 130 million voters were deleted from the electoral roll to benefit Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in recent elections. It’s a charge that India’s election commission denies, although some commissioners have raised concerns over voters’ names being removed without their knowledge.

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Thousands join rally to deliver petition calling for resignation of election commissioner

Delhi police have again obstructed protests in India’s capital as thousands of people returned to the streets, led by opposition leaders, to demand the resignation of the election commissioner.

After mass unrest in the capital over the weekend, when thousands were detained and harassed by police as they attempted to take part in a protest led by the gen Z Cockroach movement, on Monday the main opposition leaders led another procession through Delhi, this time to the supreme court.

Authorities impose strict lockdown in capital to try to stop rally against removal of 130m names from electoral roll

Indian authorities have placed Delhi under a severe lockdown and detained tens of thousands of people, including the leader of the youth-led “Cockroach” movement, in an attempt to stop an anti-government protest.

Thousands of people from across India were blocked from attending the demonstration, which had been called by the “Cockroach Janata party” (CJP) to protest against an exercise that has stripped 130m names from India’s electoral roll.