Published Oct 10, 2026 | 2:17 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 10, 2026 | 2:36 PM
Members of AISF and AIYF took out a protest march towards the Secretariat.
Protests were held across Tamil Nadu on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demonstrations came on a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest day, when New Delhi was turned into a fortress and witnessed widespread arrests, including from planes and trains.
Many Opposition leaders had condemned the police action in the national capital, calling it ‘police raj’ and a ‘murder of democracy‘.
It must be remembered that the ruling TVK had recently participated in an INDIA bloc meeting held to discuss protests and field-level activities over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and concerns raised by the parties regarding the Election Commission.
In Chennai, members of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) took out a march towards the Tamil Nadu Secretariat via Sivananda Salai. Police stopped the protesters near the MLA hostel and detained them.
Around 50 people were detained in Besant Nagar while attempting to stage a protest demanding the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation. They were held at a nearby marriage hall.
Protesters also alleged that badminton player Sandeep George, who was at the spot, was mistakenly detained. They said he was scheduled to play in a badminton final on Saturday and accused the police of refusing to release him despite their requests.
Students alleged that one of the protesters sustained a serious head injury during the police action, claiming that his skull was fractured.
Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin condemned the arrest of youths who staged the protest in Besant Nagar.
In a statement, he accused the TVK government of unleashing police repression against the protesters and questioned Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over the arrests.
He further accused the Chief Minister of acting as a subordinate of the Union government, alleging that the arrests showed the state government’s reluctance to allow young people to exercise their democratic right to protest.
Udhayanidhi demanded the immediate release of the detained youths, saying that suppressing the voices of young people seeking to protect democracy was unacceptable.
DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi also criticised the TVK government over its handling of the protests, alleging that it was suppressing those taking to the streets.
In a statement, she said the developments in Tamil Nadu had reinforced her view that the TVK government and the BJP were indistinguishable.
“BJP in Delhi is TVK, and TVK in Tamil Nadu is BJP,” Kanimozhi said.
CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state secretary P Shanmugam, who was arrested in New Delhi during the protests, announced protests at district headquarters across the state to condemn the Delhi Police’s actions.
In a statement, Shanmugam alleged that Delhi Police and paramilitary forces had unleashed severe repression, preventing students and protesters from assembling and arresting them at various locations. He also alleged that Communist Party offices had been surrounded by central security forces and Delhi Police.
Other Communist leaders arrested while heading to the protest included CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, CPI general secretary D Raja, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, U Vasuki, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, and CPI(M) and CPI(ML) leaders.
Shanmugam said the detained leaders, including Pinarayi Vijayan, were driven around in police vehicles for more than an hour after their arrests.
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(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
