India opposition plans New Delhi protest to demand election chief resign

Thousands of security personnel have been deployed across New Delhi in advance of protest calling for the election chief’s resignation.

Authorities have closed half a dozen Delhi Metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions in New Delhi as opposition parties prepare to march to the Supreme Court to protest against a controversial revision of voter lists that has led to disruptions in the Indian capital.

Thousands of police officers and security personnel were deployed across central New Delhi on Monday for a third straight day, erecting heavy metal barricades and closing key metro rail stations in advance of a march called by Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.

Opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth movement have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over revisions to voter lists that critics say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Police detained thousands of protesters over the weekend as supporters of the youth-led movement attempted to hold a protest march but were stopped by security personnel, with thousands of people detained.

The Election Commission of India (ECI), which oversees the voting process in the world’s most populous nation, has denied wrongdoing.

Opposition figures have accused authorities of trying to suppress dissent through mass detentions.

Parliamentarian John Brittas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged he was “manhandled, dragged, assaulted” by police during the demonstrations on Sunday.

“This is not merely an assault on an MP. It is an assault on democratic freedoms and the rule of law,” he said.

Police did not respond to questions about the detentions or their actions during a news conference on Sunday.

Several journalists covering the protest said they were also detained despite prominently displaying their press cards.

International NGO Reporters Without Borders said at least 16 journalists were “brutally” detained while covering the protests over the weekend.

“Covering events of public interest is not a crime. It is their job. The police’s actions against the press are unacceptable,” it said in a statement.

Gandhi, a Congress party leader, urged supporters to join Monday’s march to the Supreme Court to press for Kumar’s resignation.

“Bring as much police as you want — 10 thousand, 20 thousand, 40 thousand, go ahead. Call as many BJP-RSS goons as you need,” he said in a post on X directed at Home Minister Amit Shah.

“We are not the ones to get scared. We are not the ones to back down. This fight is not going to stop now!”

The leaders of the youth-led CJP movement, which has millions of social media followers, have also pledged to continue their protests until Kumar steps down.

The protests have become one of the most significant political challenges for Modi in his 12 years in power, bringing together opposition parties, student groups and activists angered by the voter roll revisions.

The revisions resulted in more than 133 million names being removed from electoral lists, according to media reports. Critics say minorities, particularly Muslims, were disproportionately affected.

The ECI says the move was intended to eliminate duplicate, deceased and fraudulent entries.