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Thousands Rally in New Delhi for Election Chief's Resignation
· Confirmed
In Short: Al Jazeera reported that a New Delhi court ordered the release of three leaders of the CJP, including its founder Abhijeet Dipke, a day after they were detained in a rally demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief.
Opposition leaders and activists rallied in New Delhi on Sunday, calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over changes to voter lists that they claim unfairly benefit the ruling party. Al Jazeera reported that the Election Commission denied favoring any party and said voters whose names were wrongly removed could register again.
According to BBC, Rahul Gandhi addressed the crowds, stating that the demonstration sent a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Isha, a development sector professional from Delhi, told the BBC, 'We don't even know if this is a people's mandate or a stolen mandate.'
Deldiscourse reported that Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda dismissed the demonstration as a 'carefully orchestrated drama.' Meanwhile, Bol News noted that the controversy intensified in September when The Indian Express reported that Gyanesh Kumar made key decisions related to the voter list exercise without the agreement of the other two election commissioners.
France24 reported that tens of thousands joined the protest amid tight security, with police detaining the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Abhijeet Dipke, for the second time in a week. The CJP called for the protest at Jantar Mantar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which The Indian Express investigated and exposed as a rupture within the Election Commission.
Turkiyetoday reported that Election Commission data showed the deletions included 63 million people who relocated, 30 million who could not be traced, and 28 million who died. Meanwhile, Dubaieye1038 noted that the protests mark the latest escalation in a dispute that has put unprecedented scrutiny on India's Election Commission, long regarded as one of the country's most trusted institutions.
Protesters faced heavy police surveillance, with police closing a central New Delhi park to stifle demonstrations. Rishabh Singh, a protester, told Dubaieye1038, 'The right to protest is our fundamental right, and we want answers from the government on vote theft.'
Al Jazeera reported that a New Delhi court ordered the release of three leaders of the CJP, including its founder Abhijeet Dipke, a day after they were detained in a rally demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief. The CJP plans to expand demonstrations nationwide in the coming days, with student and civil society groups gathering at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar.
Deldiscourse warned of traffic diversions before protesters began a march from central Delhi to the designated rally site, where thousands had already assembled. The protests and growing support for the opposition form the worst crisis for Modi since he came to power in 2014, though his government remains stable and the next general election is not due until 2029.
The Independent reported that more than 130 million names were removed during the revision, though the Election Commission denied any political bias and said individuals wrongly removed could re-enrol. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), student bodies, and opposition groups have held almost daily protests this month seeking the departure of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Despite the varying estimates of the number of protesters, all outlets agreed that the demonstrations were a significant challenge to the Election Commission's authority and highlighted growing public dissatisfaction with the electoral process.
Background
Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, three days before a general election.
What's confirmed
- CJP Protest Delhi: More than 6,000 people, including Opposition leaders, activists, and even star YouTubers stood little chance as Delhi Police, which reports to the Central government, pulled out all stops to clamp down on a rally in central Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
What's still developing
- Ahead of the mobilisation, Rahul Gandhi had urged people travelling to Delhi to support local traders by shopping during their visit, particularly ahead of Diwali, Chhath and Bhai Dooj.
- “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.
- Violent demonstrations have rocked Tirana since Tuesday, with thousands of protesters calling for Rama to step down as they rally against university conditions and high tuition fees.
- READ: Tens of thousands rally in Albania against Trump-linked resort project In a sign of the escalating violence, police fired rubber bullets on the demonstrators for the first time since the protests began, AFP journalists on the ground saw.
- VIOLENT STANDOFFS: The government said 215 students have been injured since the start of the movement last month, including a teenager who lost a hand on Monday Thousands of demonstrators yesterday massed under heavy police surveillance in Paris and cities across France, as unions and teachers joined high-school students who for days have been demanding better conditions in protests punctuated by violent clashes.
- A recent Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on multiple occasions over a 10-month period concerning decisions and orders related to SIR.