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Indian opposition parties stage new protest against the elections chief
· Confirmed
In Short: Human Rights Watch said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections,” according to Arabnews and The Seattle Times.
India’s opposition parties renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in New Delhi on Sunday, according to Arabnews and The Seattle Times. The protests, organized by the opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government, reported Arabnews and The Killeen Daily Herald.
Arabnews and The Seattle Times reported that authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones, and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route. The historic observatory had long served as the capital’s main protest site, noted Arabnews and The Seattle Times.
According to Arabnews and The Seattle Times, the protest was called by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement. The protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision, reported Arabnews and The Seattle Times.
The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year, according to Arabnews and The Seattle Times. The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries, reported Arabnews and The Seattle Times.
Human Rights Watch said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections,” according to Arabnews and The Seattle Times. The process of voter roll revision needs to be scrapped, Sharma said, adding: “We demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign and be arrested,” reported Thefinancialexpress.
The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites, reported Arabnews and The Seattle Times. The issue flared up last month when Indian Express reported that key decisions linked to the revision were likely taken without the approval of two of the three election commissioners, reported The Indian Express.
The opposition parties have announced they will hold a nearly 1.5km march on Sunday from central Delhi to the Ramlila Maidan, a ground that is the designated site for their protest rally, reported The Guardian.
Police warned the founder of India’s ‘Cockroach’ movement against going ahead with a protest on Friday, local media reported, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with the group that is demanding the resignation of the election chief, reported Thefinancialexpress.
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party hold placards and the Indian flag during a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, reported News8000.
A court in the Indian capital has ordered the release of top leaders of the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) even as the city braces for protests for a second day with thousands of security personnel deployed and roads barricaded, reported The-Star.
The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government, reported Arabnews and The Seattle Times.
The opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi, reported Arabnews and The Seattle Times.
Background
India's opposition parties renewed calls for the resignation of the election chief, staging protests amid tight security.
What's confirmed
- NEW DELHI: India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
- Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.
- Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.
- Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.
- The historic observatory had long served as the capital’s main protest site.
- The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government.
- The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
- The call for Kumar’s resignation has for weeks been a rallying cry for opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party seeking to challenge Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
- The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.
- People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
What's still developing
- With just four days left for the US House elections on Tuesday, November 3, both parties are making their last case to voters in the Senate and House races that will decide control of Congress.
- America's Largest Asian American, South Asian & Indian American TV Network, Broadcasting to more than 85 Million People CHICAGO, Ill.
- He said that the Indian Constitution does not envisage two classes of citizens – those with voting rights and those without them.
- “ Indian citizens' right to vote is intertwined with India's long years of struggle against foreign rule. It is a manifestation of our freedom achieved after so much of struggle and sacrifice. Article 326 cannot be tinkered with at all. No authority can do it; no court can condone it. No one is above the Constitution,” he said.
- Indian police yesterday detained Abhijit Dipke, the political strategist who turned a “cockroach” jibe at unemployed young people into a nationwide protest movement that helped force the resignation of a federal minister.
- “This is dictatorship live and in front of us, just to protect a bureaucrat who steals elections for the BJP on Modi’s behest. They are murdering democracy in the daylight in the Indian capital,” she said.
- Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee counties have until Saturday to cast their ballots at early polling locations.