NEW DELHI: Indian police detained several people in New Delhi on Saturday as protests against changes to voter rolls entered their second day.
The demonstrations, backed by the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party and opposition groups, are calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Protesters allege the voter-roll changes benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party.
About 100 demonstrators pushed through security barricades and chanted slogans including “vote thief, leave the post” and “Gyanesh Kumar, step down” before police detained some of them.
Independent MP Kapil Sibal, All India Students’ Association President Neha Bora, and political activists Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were among those present, according to a Reuters witness.
Police declined to comment on the number or identities of those detained.
“First they removed people from the voters list and now they are not letting us raise our voice against this. This is not acceptable,” Bora told Reuters.
Kumar has not commented on the protests or demands for his resignation.
Police also detained protesters on Friday and charged several with allegedly violating orders banning mass gatherings in Delhi, according to a police source.
Critics say a nationwide voter-verification exercise launched last year has resulted in millions of eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls. The Election Commission says the exercise is aimed at removing duplicate, deceased or ineligible voters.
On Friday, the commission directed officials to register newly eligible voters and those omitted from the electoral rolls.