India protests demand poll chief ouster over voter rolls — SkimNews
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- Protests demanding the resignation of Election Commission of India chief Gyanesh Kumar entered their third day, with thousands marching in Mumbai and gathering in New Delhi on Sunday.
- Opposition leaders Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray led the Mumbai march, where protesters waved Indian flags and called for Kumar to step down, claiming the voter-roll revisions have removed millions to benefit the BJP.
- New Delhi police detained dozens of protesters over the weekend and registered cases against some for violating orders banning mass gatherings in the capital's center, according to Reuters.
- The Election Commission says the voter-roll revision is designed to remove duplicate, deceased, or ineligible entries, and on Friday directed officials to register eligible voters inadvertently omitted from electoral rolls.
- Both the ECI and the BJP have denied allegations that the revisions are designed to benefit Modi's ruling party.
- An opposition alliance plans a "save democracy" march to the election commission office on Tuesday, while the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party announced a major rally in New Delhi for October 10.
- Gyanesh Kumar has not publicly responded to the demands for his resignation or commented on the protests.
Why it matters: The ECI's voter-roll revision — which protesters say has stripped millions of eligible voters — has unified opposition parties, major regional leaders, and Gen Z activists in coordinated nationwide demonstrations, with a "save democracy" march to the commission's office set for Tuesday. With police detaining dozens and the poll chief silent, the dispute has escalated from a policy argument to sustained street-level protests that threaten to become a prolonged political crisis for the Modi government.
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