Indian opposition parties stage new protest against the elections chief

NEW DELHI

AP Photo

India’s opposition parties yesterday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.

Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.

The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics say the exercise is politically motivated, threatens to disenfranchise millions more, and has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.

The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.

Human Rights Watch on Oct. 29 said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections.”