Politics
A youth movement opposing India’s controversial voter-list revision process has announced a major protest in the capital, New Delhi, on Saturday. According to Reuters, Abhijit Dipke,
A youth movement opposing India’s controversial voter-list revision process has announced a major protest in the capital, New Delhi, on Saturday. According to Reuters, Abhijit Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), has claimed that police are detaining thousands of his supporters across several states. The protest’s main demand is the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, chief of the Election Commission of India. Critics accuse the commission of carrying out large-scale deletions from voter lists in a manner that could benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a statement posted on the social media platform X on Friday, Abhijit Dipke said he would arrive in New Delhi on Saturday and march towards Jantar Mantar under all circumstances. Jantar Mantar is a designated protest site in the national capital. Addressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dipke said the country’s young people were no longer afraid of him. He added that the protest would proceed as planned despite the arrests of supporters.
The controversy surrounding India’s voter-list revision process intensified after reports emerged that approximately 130 million voter names had been removed from electoral rolls across the country. The youth movement, opposition parties and their student organizations have challenged the Election Commission’s action and demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. During India’s 2024 general election, at least 960 million people were eligible to vote in the world’s largest democracy. The process of verifying electoral rolls began last year in the eastern state of Bihar ahead of its elections but has since expanded to most Indian states.
Government critics and opposition parties argue that the revision, the first of its kind on such a large scale in nearly two decades, is disenfranchising millions of citizens and could give the BJP an electoral advantage. They are demanding that the process be halted and the previous voter lists restored. The Election Commission, however, maintains that the figures being cited relate to voter entries flagged in preliminary draft rolls and that the revision process has not yet been completed. According to the commission, people whose names have been mistakenly removed can apply to be registered again.
New Delhi police have said that the Cockroach Janata Party has not been granted permission to hold Saturday’s protest. Police warned that legal action could be taken if demonstrators violate the rules. According to Reuters, the news agency reviewed an official document indicating that thousands of police personnel and paramilitary forces are being deployed to secure the capital. The deployment reportedly includes personnel being transferred from sensitive regions, including Indian-administered Kashmir.
The movement claims that police in various Indian states are detaining thousands of activists who are travelling to participate in Saturday’s demonstration. However, Reuters said it had been unable to independently verify these claims or videos circulated on social media. India’s opposition Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, has announced plans to convene a meeting of an alliance comprising more than a dozen parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
Leaders of the opposition alliance are also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening. In India, the presidency is largely a constitutional and ceremonial office. Meanwhile, some long-distance trains arriving in New Delhi have been cancelled for Saturday in anticipation of the protest. According to documents reviewed by Reuters, officials said police had also requested reduced metro train services and the closure of entrances and exits at certain stations amid concerns about potentially uncontrollable crowds. The dispute over the revision of electoral rolls has given Saturday’s protest particular significance, as disagreements between the governments, the Election Commission, opposition parties and the youth movement continue to intensify.
