Thousands of opposition supporters in India took to the streets of New Delhi on Monday to urge the Supreme Court to halt a nationwide review of voter registers that has sparked protests and allegations of political interference.
The protesters called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom opposition parties accuse of overseeing an electoral exercise that could favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The revision, launched last year, has led to the removal of more than 130 million names from voter lists. The deleted records reportedly include 28 million deceased people, 63 million individuals who had moved elsewhere and 30 million whose locations could not be verified.
Demonstrators marched about seven kilometres through central Delhi, carrying party flags and chanting demands for Kumar to resign. The protest remained peaceful under tight security, following a weekend crackdown in which authorities detained thousands of demonstrators.
The police action disrupted plans by supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to hold a larger rally and led to restrictions in several parts of the capital.
The petition to the Supreme Court, signed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is expected to come before the court on Tuesday. It seeks an independent audit of deleted voter records, protections against removals without prior notice and an opportunity for affected individuals to challenge the decisions. The opposition is also asking the court to suspend the nationwide revision temporarily.
The Election Commission has dismissed claims of bias, maintaining that individuals whose names were mistakenly removed can apply to register again. The BJP has similarly rejected the accusations, arguing that opposition parties are attempting to weaken public trust in legitimate electoral processes.
Members of opposition parties and left-wing student groups took part in Monday’s demonstration. Anirudh Siyag, a doctoral student who joined the march, said he was protesting against what he considered a threat to the country’s core values and the independence of its institutions.
Security was reinforced across New Delhi, with six metro stations closed for 11 hours and traffic restrictions introduced along several major roads.
The BJP accused the Congress party, the country’s main opposition party, of exploiting the protests for political gain. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters that the opposition was attempting to discredit constitutional institutions and stir unrest in its bid to regain power.
Separately, Delhi Police announced that Jantar Mantar, a historic observatory that has long served as a venue for public demonstrations, would no longer be officially designated as a protest site. Police said three alternative locations had been selected.
CJP supporters occupied Jantar Mantar for several weeks earlier this year while demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over allegations of examination paper leaks.
Leaders of the movement later met with Delhi Police to seek a date for another peaceful rally. They warned that they would announce further demonstrations if the authorities failed to provide a date within 24 hours.
The youth-led movement has organised protests in recent months over concerns about government school infrastructure and employment opportunities. Its expanding activities have created additional political pressure for Modi and his BJP government, which has been in power for 12 years, according to the supplied report.
The latest demonstrations came after The Indian Express reported last month that two deputy election commissioners had expressed internal concerns about the voter register revision, registration procedures and the digital systems supporting the exercise.
Opposition parties contend that Muslim voters and other minority communities are bearing a disproportionate share of the deletions because they are less likely to support the ruling Hindu nationalist party. Both the Election Commission and the BJP have denied the allegations.