Delhi woke up on Saturday to a capital closed off to its own protesters, with railways cancelling all trains to and from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station between 4 am and 2 pm, ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s planned protest.

“It is a fact that all trains will remain cancelled from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations on October 10 from 4 am to 2 pm,” Northern Railway’s chief public relations officer Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyaya said.

Delhi Police asked the Delhi Metro to shut 57 stations, including Janpath, Rajiv Chowk and Mandi House.

More than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel are deployed across the city, a senior officer told reporters.

The Centre has given Delhi Police 110 extra companies of central forces, of which 85 are from the CRPF, the officer added.

Police have also approached colleges and PG owners to keep students away, and have discussed using stadiums as temporary detention centres.

Joint Commissioner Nupur Prasad said CJP applied on October 7, against a requirement of at least 10 days’ notice. Critics say the response is disproportionate to a protest by a youth-led party.

“Shut down the entire country if you are scared of the youth; this has not happened even during emergency,” CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said.

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien wrote on X that the government “has its knickers in a twist” before “a ball has been bowled.”

CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby has moved the Supreme Court against the restrictions, with Kapil Sibal appearing for him.

The INDIA bloc held three days of marches from October 6 and ended at Rajghat on October 8, where Rahul Gandhi told reporters police had assaulted MPs.

MP from Kerala said, “We have been pushing the Congress to join hands with the CJP and build a vibrant agitation. But they are not open to that idea as such.”

AAP’s Sanjay Singh said the protest “is not our protest; it is the CJP’s protest, but that everyone will participate.”

Former Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she may join, but nothing can be confirmed now.

“The way Delhi Police treated Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on October 6 was inappropriate when people are raising their voices for an important cause, we must stand beside them,” Mamata Banerjee added.

Student groups like AISF have complained that its members were pulled off a train at Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh.

Jantar Mantar has been closed to protesters since October 2, when around 1,000 people were detained across the city.

Gyanesh Kumar has not publicly responded to the resignation demand, and the Supreme Court declined on October 5 to pass an interim order to suspend him.

Whatever happens on the streets today, the authorities’ own measures have turned a protest into the main political event.