Protest groups demand India election chief’s resignation over voter roll revision
The Cockroach Janata Party and student and activist groups plan fresh protests on Friday over alleged voter roll manipulation, which India’s Election Commission and government deny.
New Delhi, India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face renewed pressure on Friday as the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and a separate coalition of student and activist groups stage fresh protests demanding the resignation of election chief Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial voter roll revision.
Protests planned in Mumbai and New Delhi
The CJP will rally in Mumbai and plans to expand demonstrations nationwide in the coming days. Student and civil society groups will gather at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The demonstrations mark the latest escalation in a dispute that has placed India’s Election Commission, long regarded as one of the country’s most trusted institutions, under unprecedented scrutiny.
Protesters allege that the commission manipulated voter rolls to favour Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The commission and the government deny the allegations.
Reported internal concerns
Pressure on Kumar intensified last month after the Indian Express reported that his two deputies had formally raised concerns at least 14 times over the preceding ten months about voter-list revisions, registration procedures and the commission’s digital systems.
The Election Commission said differing views were a normal part of internal deliberations and that all its actions were lawful.
Demand for resignation
CJP convenor Saurav Das told Indian news agency ANI on Thursday that demands for change could not succeed if the right to vote, which he described as the only remaining tool for changing society, was taken away.
“We will only end the protest after Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” he said.
Dispute over voter verification
The controversy centres on a nationwide voter-verification exercise launched last year. Critics say it has led to millions of eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls.
The commission says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate, deceased or ineligible voters and ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls.
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