In brief
Tens of thousands gathered on Sunday in New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, marching under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Protesters accuse the commission of purging over 130 million names from voter lists in a way that disproportionately disenfranchised Muslims and minorities, while the government calls the demonstration political drama. Police deployed batons and riot‑control vehicles, and Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda blamed the protest for stirring anarchy.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched from central New Delhi toward the historic Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign over revisions to voter rolls that opposition parties say favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP.
Leading the march was Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Indian National Congress, who called for Kumar to step down after the commission removed more than 130 million names from voter lists, an action that opposition parties argue disproportionately disenfranchised Muslims and other minorities.
Opposition parties and student organisations claim the revisions were designed to secure more votes for the BJP, citing the high number of removed names and the way they predominantly affected communities unlikely to support Modi.
The Election Commission denied any partisan motive, stating that voters whose names were wrongly removed may register again and that the revisions were part of normal processes.
Following the protest, the BJP asserted that the opposition was “undermining democracy” by challenging legitimate electoral procedures.
Hundreds of police officers, some carrying batons and shields, were deployed around the rally site, joined by riot‑control vehicles; officials had announced traffic diversions before demonstrators marched.
“What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy,” Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda told the ANI news agency. “It is a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, all in the name of democracy.”
Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said the demonstration was a “carefully orchestrated drama” designed to stir unrest. The protest is the latest in a series of near‑daily demonstrations that began in late September over what opposition leaders accuse of electoral roll malpractices and the conduct of the election commission.
