Youth-led Cockroach Janta Party and student and activist groups staged fresh protests in India on Friday, demanding Gyanesh Kumar resignation over controversial revisions to voter lists. The demonstrations took place in Mumbai and New Delhi.
The Cockroach Janta Party planned a rally in Mumbai and said it would expand protests to other parts of the country. Separately, student and civil society groups gathered at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The protests have increased scrutiny of the Election Commission.
Protesters allege that voter rolls were changed in ways that could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission and the government have rejected the allegations and said the voter-verification process was lawful.
Pressure on Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar increased after reports that two election commissioners had raised concerns at least 14 times over 10 months. The reported concerns involved voter-list revisions, registration procedures and the commission’s digital systems.
The controversy centres on a nationwide voter-verification exercise launched last year. Critics say the process has removed millions of eligible voters from electoral rolls. The Election Commission says the exercise is designed to identify duplicate, deceased and otherwise ineligible voters.
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged earlier this year from youth-led activism linked to unemployment and leaked examination papers. Led by Abhijeet Dipke, the group gained attention after protests over exam-paper leaks preceded the resignation of India’s education minister.
The Gyanesh Kumar resignation demand is also expected to feature in protests planned by opposition parties. Congress-led groups have announced demonstrations for October 6. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has maintained that differing views can occur during internal deliberations and that its actions have complied with the law.
