(Adnkronos) – Protests continue in New Delhi. Opposition parties are demanding the resignation of the head of the Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar. In the background are accusations of alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls during a contested review process. According to AFP and the BBC, thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Indian capital. The British network also reports thousands of security forces mobilized and barricaded streets for the march that the opposition wants to take to the Supreme Court after weekend protests by opposition supporters and the ‘cockroaches’ of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) reportedly resulted in the detention of thousands of demonstrators.
For the opposition, the revision of the electoral rolls could disenfranchise some voters to the advantage of the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. They suspect that under Kumar’s leadership, the registers were manipulated for the benefit of the BJP. This accusation has been rejected by both the Election Commission and the political force. Opposition parliamentarians, the British network reports, want to submit a document to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Surya Kant, who, however, told journalists that he refused the meeting for “certain reasons.” Reasons not clarified. “Every Indian citizen has the right to approach the Court, and we will listen to concerns and reasons, ensuring what is provided by law,” he then stated.
For his part, Rahul Gandhi invited “all opposition parties, civil society groups” and “all those who believe in democracy” to join the procession in New Delhi. During a press conference, he showed a letter for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, written with the Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, to put in writing concerns about Kumar’s alleged conduct and the contested revision of the electoral rolls, and explained that Kant invited them to submit a petition. They will do so, he assured, at the end of the march. Yesterday, the CJP assured that the protest will continue until Kumar’s resignation. In May, the mobilization of the ‘cockroaches’ contributed to forcing the now former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to step down.
