NEW DELHI: Abhijeet Dipke, founder of India’s Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using arrests, police force and intimidation to silence young protesters, vowing that the crackdown would not deter the movement.
In a video statement shared on social media, Dipke challenged Modi over the continued detention of cockroach movement activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, whose judicial custody was extended by two days on Monday. He praised the two men for remaining defiant despite spending five days in custody.
You won’t scare these faces. This is the strength of the Youth. Smiling after being in jail for waiving a tiranga. We are not and we will not be scared. https://t.co/1tb6wcYZtj
— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 19, 2026
“You must be feeling very strong keeping a 26-year-old Saurav Das in jail. You must be feeling very strong beating children on the streets,” Dipke said, criticising the use of police barricades and the detention of students by Modi’s government.
“Is this strength? Hiding behind the police, hiding behind the courts, is this Narendra Modi’s strength?” he asked.
Message to Modi https://t.co/44wzkog71Q
— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 19, 2026
Dipke claimed that Das and Ranka had gone to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to wave the national flag but were sent to judicial custody. He also alleged that their court hearings had been repeatedly postponed.
“Do you feel like a very powerful Prime Minister by keeping them in jail? You are just a coward,” he said.
‘None of Us is Going to Remain Silent’
Dipke described Das’s composure in court as a sign of courage, saying the activist had previously doubted whether he could endure even a single day in jail.
He said Das had appeared in court with a smile after five days in custody and remained unafraid when informed that his judicial custody had been extended. Dipke also shared a photograph of Das smiling during the court appearance.
Praising Ranka and the families of both activists, Dipke recalled a conversation with Das’s mother, who he said had expressed confidence that her son would not be easily broken.
The CJP founder, referring to his own experience of being jailed twice, said detention would not silence him or other protesters.
“Mr Modi, I’m sorry to say this, none of us are scared of you. And none of us is going to remain silent,” he said.
Dipke also quoted a dialogue from the film Mary Kom to underline his message that repeated intimidation could eventually remove people’s fear.
“You have frightened the youth of this country as much as you could. But you have frightened us so much that the fear inside us has now disappeared. So now we will not be afraid,” he said.
Electoral Roll Revision to Benefit BJP
Dipke’s remarks come amid protests in New Delhi and other Indian cities against a controversial revision of electoral rolls.
Opposition parties and demonstrators have accused the Election Commission of India of manipulating voter lists to benefit Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The protesters have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Election Commission has denied wrongdoing, saying the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is intended to remove deceased, duplicate and otherwise ineligible entries from electoral rolls.
More than 130 million names have been removed from the rolls since the revision began last year. Opposition parties have raised concerns that eligible voters could be excluded and that some people may struggle to provide the documents required to restore their registrations.
The protests have drawn support from opposition parties, student groups and civil society organisations.
Demonstrations have taken place in New Delhi and Bengaluru, while opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained during a protest in the capital last week.
Dipke himself was released on Saturday, a day after police detained him as he attempted to join a protest rally in New Delhi’s Connaught Place area.
Violence Against Protesters
The crackdown has also prompted allegations of violence against demonstrators by men described by activists as vigilantes.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show men wearing saffron scarves chasing and beating protesters in central Delhi on October 10.
One video appeared to show a woman being pushed to the ground and assaulted after intervening on behalf of a male demonstrator, while a police officer stood nearby.
The footage triggered public outrage and police action against four men identified as Raman Saini, Vivekanand, also known as Vivek, Kapil Kumar, and Ravinder Singh, also known as Govind Hindu. Reports identified them as members of the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD), a Hindu nationalist organisation.
HRD chief Bhupendra Singh Tomar, also known as Pinky Bhaiyya, acknowledged that the four men belonged to his organisation and defended their actions in comments reported by Outlook magazine.
The men were subsequently released on bail, according to reports. Their case has fuelled criticism of the authorities’ handling of alleged violence against protesters.
Critics have accused Hindu nationalist vigilante groups of targeting government opponents and minority communities while escaping meaningful accountability.
These allegations have also raised questions about the response of police personnel present during reported assaults.
Dipke said arrests and intimidation would not deter the movement, insisting that young protesters would continue to speak out against the government.
