NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters took to the streets in India’s capital, New Delhi on Sunday, to demand the resignation of the election chief over changes to voter lists that opposition parties say favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.
Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi led the demonstration, the latest in more than a month of protests challenging the revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Opposition parties alleged the exercise, which removed more than 130 million names from voter lists, disproportionately affected Muslims and other minorities considered unlikely to support Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Election Commission has denied favoring any party and said voters whose names were wrongly removed may register again.
The BJP has accused opposition parties of undermining democracy by challenging legitimate electoral procedures. India’s next general election is due in 2029.
Officials ramped up security measures and announced traffic diversions before demonstrators marched from central New Delhi towards the historic Ramlila Maidan ground.
Hundreds of police, some carrying batons and shields, were deployed around the rally site alongside riot-control vehicles. Demonstrators waved Indian and party flags as opposition leaders travelled in an open-top jeep.
Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda dismissed the demonstration as a “carefully orchestrated drama”.
“What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy,” he told the ANI news agency. “It is a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, all in the name of democracy.”
Opposition parties, student organizations and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party have staged near-daily demonstrations since late September, calling for Kumar to step down.