Protests intensify in India over demands for election chief to quit

Protests erupted in India on Sunday, with thousands of youth demonstrators and opposition activists rallying in Delhi and Mumbai to demand the resignation of Election Commission Chief Gyanesh Kumar. The activists accuse Kumar of authorizing changes to voter rolls that they claim benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Opposition leaders Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray spearheaded protests in Mumbai, urging the scrapping of the revisions and Kumar’s removal from his position. The protesters maintain that the modifications will disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, thus giving BJP an advantage. In Delhi, protesters began assembling in the late afternoon, with some police detaining demonstrators, a Reuters witness reported.

Some activists were dragged by police, alleging the officers used physical force. A protester named Aahna Singh, a Jawaharlal Nehru University student, claimed, “Police dragged me by my hair. The police are being brutal.” Delhi Police declined to comment. Over the past two days, authorities have barred protesters from gathering, arresting dozens and removing them by bus.

Some detainees were released later on Friday and Saturday, but police charged others with breaching the orders against mass assemblies in central Delhi. The Election Commission contends the ongoing nationwide voter-roll revision is aimed at eliminating duplicate, deceased, or ineligible entries to preserve electoral integrity. Kumar has not addressed the calls for his resignation.