India opposition rallies in Delhi for electoral chief resignation

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in New Delhi on Sunday to demand the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. The rally, organized by the INDIA opposition bloc, marked a new public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Protesters held musical instruments and waved flags while chanting slogans against central government policies.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, joined the demonstration. He was accompanied by members of the Cucaracha youth movement, who have been active in recent months. The coalition, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized supporters from multiple states for the event. This gathering occurred weeks after police clashed with protesters in the capital.

The crowd assembled at Ramlila Maidan, a large public square in New Delhi. Police removed Jantar Mantar from the list of approved protest sites last month. The historic observatory had long served as the primary location for demonstrations in the city. Authorities deployed thousands of police officers and paramilitary troops to manage the event.

Surveillance measures were extensive. Officials reported that more than 200 security cameras, drones, and body cameras monitored the area and the protest route. This heavy security presence underscored the government’s concern over the scale of the opposition’s mobilization.

The central demand of the protesters is the removal of Kumar. Critics argue that the ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. They claim the process is politically motivated and disproportionately affects minorities, particularly Muslims. The review threatens to strip voting rights from millions of citizens.

The Election Commission and Modi’s government deny these accusations. They state the review aims to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries from the electoral rolls. Human Rights Watch raised concerns on Thursday, saying the process casts doubt on the fairness of future elections in India. Elaine Pearson, the group’s Asia director, urged authorities to end the review immediately.

The call for Kumar’s resignation has become a rallying cry for opposition parties and Cucaracha supporters. The movement began as a satirical online campaign this summer after the Supreme Court president compared unemployed youth to insects. In July, similar protests forced the resignation of Modi’s education minister. Modi has not commented publicly on the current demonstrations, though some of his party leaders have called the protesters anarchists.