Indian protests demand election head's resignation

Thousands of protesters marched in New Delhi on Monday demanding the resignation of India's election chief over alleged misconduct during a voter roll revision, the latest showdown with authorities in the heavily fortified capital. Opposition parties and supporters of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party protest movement have taken to the streets in recent days, defying a strict security clampdown to demand a halt to the revision exercise and the resignation of the chief election commissioner. Critics say the large-scale revision of electoral lists could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission of India, which oversees the voting process in the world's most populous nation, has denied wrongdoing. A protester who gave his name as Mehvaish said he could no longer "tolerate the injustices" meted out by Modi's government. "We want removal of this government [because] of all the injustices we have suffered in the past 12-13 years," he said. Indian authorities have deployed thousands of security personnel across central Delhi for a third straight day, erecting heavy metal barricades and closing key metro stations. The protests on Monday were led by Rahul Gandhi of the main opposition Congress party, who waved a copy of the constitution as crowds cheered during the procession to the Supreme Court. He later filed a writ petition in the court through his lawyer, challenging the voter revision exercise. (AFP) Edited by Aaron Tam

2026-10-12 22:21:00