Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor has hit out at the central government. He has criticised the stringent security measures imposed to prevent a protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in Delhi on Saturday. He said on Twitter that the situation in Delhi is like an 'undeclared emergency'.

Tharoor said that he returned to Delhi at 2 am and has never seen such conditions. He said that checkposts have been set up just a few hundred meters away, concrete barricades and spike strips have been set up on roads. He said that the deployment of 22,000 police and paramilitary forces across the city is reminiscent of a war atmosphere. He criticized the measures such as the cancellation of about 250 trains, the closure of 45 metro stations and the suspension of internet services in the heart of the capital as signs of regression.

The CJP had called for a protest at Jantar Mantar against the Special Voter List (SIR) amendment by the Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. However, the Delhi Police denied permission for the protest. Strict action was taken to prevent the protesters from gathering. Hundreds of protesters, including CJP founder Abhijeet Deepke, were detained by the police in this process.

Tharoor said that the government, which is confident about the conduct of the elections, welcomes questions, but turning the capital into a fortress will raise more doubts. "The government should give answers but not lathicharge. Expressions should be respected but not suppressed," he said. He felt that the government's treatment of those who question the functioning of democracy was shameful.