Indian voter list row: Opposition marches to SC against polls chief

INDIA bloc leaders file petition over SIR deletions

Hundreds of opposition party demonstrators marched to India’s Supreme Court yesterday to protest the removal of millions of names from voter lists that has sparked days of unrest in the Indian capital and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Opposition parties and supporters of the “cockroach” youth movement have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the revision that critics say benefits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Police detained thousands of protesters over the weekend, including leaders of the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP), as supporters of the youth movement sought to march in protest and were stopped by thousands of security personnel who locked down central Delhi.

Opposition parties yesterday marched to the top court to file a petition over the voter list revision after Chief Justice Surya Kant declined their request for a meeting. Kant said the issues were already before the court and discussing pending cases would violate judicial ethics and propriety, and suggested the opposition file a petition instead.

Hundreds of people, including opposition party members and left-wing student groups, marched to the court, while leaders travelled by bus.

While the INDIA bloc march to the top court, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, was stopped on Bhagwan Das Road, Gandhi and other bloc leaders reached the court in the evening, where his legal team completed the formalities for filing a petition against the Election Commission over alleged voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders, including Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, visited the Parliament Street Police Station yesterday to seek a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar against chief election commissioner. The CJP has also given the Delhi Police 24 hours to provide a date to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Earlier, Delhi police announced that Jantar Mantar in the central business district was no longer designated as an official protest site and three new venues had been identified, according to an official order seen by Reuters.

Authorities closed six metro stations for 10 hours and restricted traffic along over 20 stretches in anticipation of the demonstration. Hundreds of security personnel in anti-riot gear were also deployed in central Delhi, with key roads barricaded and water cannons on standby.

The ruling BJP said the protests were the main opposition Congress party’s attempt to seize power.

“By discrediting constitutional institutions, spreading chaos and riots on the streets, and attacking people in the name of politics, all it seeks is a return to power,” Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters.

Opposition parties allege Muslim voters and other minorities, who are unlikely to support the Hindu nationalist ruling party, are disproportionately affected by the deletions – charges both the poll panel and BJP reject.

“The fundamental values of this country are being assaulted, institutions are losing their independence...I am here to protest against this assault,” said Anirudh Siyag, a PhD student who joined the protest.