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India has deployed more than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel across New Delhi ahead of planned protests demanding the resignation of the country’s election commission chief over alleged irregularities in voter rolls.
The demonstrations, scheduled for Saturday, come amid growing opposition to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) “special intensive revision” of electoral rolls. The commission says the exercise aims to remove duplicate and ineligible voters, while opposition parties and critics allege it could disenfranchise voters to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A series of protests has taken place across India this month, including in New Delhi. Senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have joined the demonstrations. Gandhi was briefly detained during rallies earlier this week.
Gandhi, the opposition leader in parliament, and other opposition leaders were expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to raise their concerns about ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar.
The ECI, India’s constitutional body responsible for conducting elections, has denied allegations of wrongdoing.
The Press Trust of India reported that more than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel had been deployed in the capital ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations.
AFP reporters observed yellow metal barricades erected along major roads in central New Delhi, restricting access to Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site. Police have not authorised rallies at the venue.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical political movement that emerged online in May, has called for mass mobilisation in the capital on Saturday, including a planned march to Jantar Mantar. The group previously led protests at the site during a campaign to remove the then education minister.
The CJP has alleged that police detained some of its volunteers and supporters ahead of the planned demonstration. Police have not responded to the allegations.
“Delhi police is working like the BJP’s private militia,” CJP activist Saurav Das said in a social media post.
Source : The Straits Time