New Delhi, Oct 10: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and other CJP members, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport as they arrived ahead of the announced protest at Jantar Mantar, police said on Saturday.

Delhi Police personnel entered the aircraft carrying Dipke after it landed at IGI Airport.

Dipke posted the video showing the Delhi Police team entering the flight as he, along with other CJP members, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained from the flight itself.

In a video posted on his social media handle, Dipke was heard telling the police, “…I have come here to be arrested; arrest me.”

The CJP announced the detentions in a post on its social media handle, stating: “Abhijeet Dipke DETAINED! Saurav Das DETAINED! Ashutosh Ranka DETAINED!”

They were detained ahead of the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar later in the day against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the country.

Dipke had left Mumbai for Delhi earlier in the morning to lead the protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

Earlier in the morning, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also detained from his residence in Gurugram by Gurugram Police, ahead of the planned protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

Rathee had attended a protest against the SIR of electoral rolls in Bengaluru on Thursday.

The reported detention comes as Delhi Police remains on high alert ahead of the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, with security tightened across the national Capital.

Meanwhile, vehicles are being checked at Delhi’s borders, while police personnel have been equipped with body cameras to record any untoward incidents during the demonstration.

Security arrangements have also been strengthened at the residences of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

Drone surveillance is being conducted at key locations, while several Metro stations, including Supreme Court and Mandi House, have been closed as part of the security measures.

New Delhi, Oct 10: Zoho’s Chief Scientist and Co‑founder Sridhar Vembu on Saturday said that Indian startups are making major advances in low-cost rockets in threat to SpaceX.

“Directly due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government policy, Indian startups are making major advances in low-cost rockets and that poses a threat to SpaceX in the same way the Chinese EVs threaten Tesla,” Vembu posted on X responding to a post by Starlink Founder Elon Musk.

Further, the tech leader also said medicine prices in India are among the lowest globally and pointed to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as an example of low‑cost payment infrastructure.

“India has among the lowest drug prices in the world (and is still going lower). People who visit India buy medicines to take home quite regularly now,” the X post said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked hard to create a competitive economy where the benefits flow to the average Indian,” Vembu wrote, adding that the Indian government does not tolerate monopolies.

“He has also actively promoted and encouraged a massive surge in startups, and that is the best signal of a highly competitive economy,” the post said.

Vembu supported India’s economic and digital policies, hailing the country’s low data costs and competitive markets.

He said Indians routinely use dual‑SIM phones with large data plans because they are affordable.

“India has among the lowest data prices in the world. It is so good that I don’t even bother to connect to local Wi-Fi when I travel in India and just tether my phone to work on my computer,” he said.

In a separate post on Friday, Vembu said Indians have made major contributions to US technology prowess but warned that many on US visas face the prospect of uprooting lives built through hard work.

“A big part of America no longer wants us,” the Zoho Co-founder said.

New Delhi, Oct 10: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Saturday questioned the veracity of the claims made by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi following the INDIA Bloc’s meeting with President Droupadi Murmu.

This came as a delegation of INDIA Bloc MPs, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, met the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday and submitted a memorandum alleging electoral irregularities by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an attempt to undermine Indian democracy.

LoP Gandhi said President Droupadi Murmu had asked the Opposition delegation to provide evidence to substantiate its allegations of ‘vote chori (vote theft)’ following a meeting over the controversy surrounding CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

Reacting to LoP Gandhi’s remarks, BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy questioned the propriety of publicly disclosing details of a conversation with the President, arguing that such statements could raise concerns about the dignity of the constitutional office.

“When you meet a person holding the country’s highest constitutional office and then disclose what was discussed, it raises serious questions about propriety. Neither you nor I can go and ask the President what she said. Rahul Gandhi’s claims may even be untrue. However, as the Leader of the Opposition, he has the right to meet the President, but he does not have the right to comment on what the President said,” Rudy said.

Bihar BJP President Sanjay Saraogi also questioned the Opposition’s allegations, stating that although meeting the President was a constitutional right, the INDIA Bloc should have presented evidence to support its claims regarding the electoral roll revision exercise.

“Meeting the President is everyone’s constitutional right, but did you present any evidence? No evidence was provided regarding the SIR. The SIR process takes around 150 days, during which draft publications are shared with district presidents and a one-month period is given for objections. Across the country, around 20 lakh names have been deleted, and even ordinary citizens can fill Form 7,” Saraogi told media.

Janata Dal (United) National Spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan, speaking to media, said that political parties in a democracy were free to express their views but argued that the Opposition should also reflect on its political standing and its relationship with voters.

“In a democracy, no political party is barred from expressing its views. However, Opposition parties must understand that they reap what they sow. You have consistently ignored the people. Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure may be short-lived, but there are several states where the Congress was once a mainstream party and has been unable to regain that status,” Ranjan said.

The other members of the delegation were Mamata All India Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee, J&K Chief Minister and National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule, CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby, RJD Rajya Sabha member Prof Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI General Secretary D. Raja, Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, and VCK President and MP Dr Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan.

The meeting took place after several days of protests by Opposition leaders against the Election Commission, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged irregularities in the electoral process. The Opposition has also been demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.