NEW DELHI: Authorities closed six metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions in Delhi on Monday, as the opposition began marching to the Supreme Court to protest a controversial revision of voter lists that has sparked days of unrest in the Indian capital.
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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The change that started last year led to over 130 million names – more than the population of Japan – being struck from voter lists, including 28 million who had died, 63 million who had relocated, and 30 million who could not be traced.
Police detained thousands of protesters in Delhi 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.
The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol, while the BJP has accused its rivals of trying to undermine the country’s democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.
Six metro stations were closed on Monday for “security reasons”, and police imposed traffic restrictions and diversions along over 20 stretches.
Hundreds of security personnel in anti-riot gear remained deployed in central Delhi, with key roads barricaded and water cannons on standby.
Delhi Police also said 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.
Cockroach movement supporters had staged a sit-in for weeks earlier this year at Jantar Mantar, a historic observatory and a well-known protest site for decades, to force education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to quit over exam paper leaks.
CONGRESS, OPPOSITION TO MARCH TO SUPREME COURT
The party earlier planned to submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice of India, but its request for a meeting was declined.
Chief Justice Surya Kant told reporters he had communicated to the opposition that he would not be able to meet them.
In his letter responding to Gandhi, seen by Reuters, Kant said the issues raised by him were already being heard by the court and therefore discussing pending cases would be against ethics and judicial propriety.
Kant suggested that Congress could instead file a petition.
Separately, the CJP said its leaders are meeting Delhi Police to “demand” a date for a peaceful protest.
“We have left it on them (police) to tell us a date and time (for the protest)…but…it is not like they can keep the matter pending, we will give them an ultimatum of 24 hours,” spokesperson Saurav Das told reporters.
The youth movement, which has mobilised protests in recent months against issues ranging from government school infrastructure to jobs, is one of the biggest political challenges to Modi and his BJP in his 12 years in power.
The protests erupted after the Indian Express newspaper reported last month that Kumar’s two deputies raised several concerns internally about voter list revisions, registration procedures and digital systems.
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.