Indian opposition MPs detained in protest against election chief

Police in New Delhi arrested several opposition lawmakers as they attempted to march, demanding the chief election commissioner resign over a controversial voter roll revision. Prominent opposition figures, including Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka, were apprehended and placed in a police vehicle. They were subsequently released and continued their march, setting up a sit-in near the headquarters of the Election Commission.

This incident marks the latest escalation in a dispute over the nationwide revision of voter rolls. Opposition parties allege that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is allowing a process that may favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, both the BJP and the Election Commission have denied these claims.

"Some of the MPs sought to take alternative routes to the Election Commission building. We have officers positioned at various locations from where the protesters were transported in buses and directed to different police stations," stated Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Manjeet Sheoran to the BBC. The police did not disclose the exact number of lawmakers detained, though opposition sources claimed that 237 MPs from diverse parties took part in the march.

The protest occurred just four days after a group called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a Gen Z-backed satirical online movement, organized similar demonstrations in Mumbai and Delhi, also calling for the CEC's resignation. The CJP has characterized these demonstrations as the start of a nationwide campaign.