India’s Supreme Court is due to hear a petition on Tuesday alleging irregularities in the nationwide revision of voter lists, as protests in New Delhi show no sign of easing. On Monday, the third straight day of demonstrations, Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi led thousands of people to the court carrying a copy of the Indian constitution.
Opposition parties and supporters of the youth-led “cockroach” movement want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over the removal of more than 130 million names from the rolls. Of those, 28 million were taken off because the voter had died, 63 million because they had moved and 30 million because they could not be traced. Critics say the process benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission of India denies any wrongdoing and says people removed in error can enrol again. The petition, lodged on Monday night, seeks an audit of deletions, safeguards against names being removed without notice and an interim suspension of the revision. Authorities closed six major metro stations on Monday and deployed thousands of security personnel, and Delhi Police banned protests at Jantar Mantar, the capital’s long-standing demonstration site, naming three other venues instead. Police detained thousands of activists over the weekend, though most, including three senior figures in the movement, were later released. Abhijeet Dipke, who heads the Cockroach Janta Party, was arrested before a fresh round of protests could take place.
The BJP says the protests are an attempt by Congress to take power. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused organisers of trying to discredit constitutional institutions, saying “all it seeks is a return to power”. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav called the Jantar Mantar ban the government’s biggest defeat and promised to keep protesting, while Communist Party of India MP John Brittas said police had manhandled him during Sunday’s march. Abhita Ruheja, a protester who was detained, said the authorities had turned Delhi into a fortress and were taking away rights one after another.
The protests have run for about a month and bring together opposition parties, student groups and activists, presenting Modi with a major political challenge. Opposition figures accuse the authorities of using mass detentions to suppress dissent. The court’s response to the request to pause the revision will shape how the dispute develops in the coming weeks.
