Tens of thousands of people rallied at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday as India’s opposition INDIA bloc demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a voter-list revision that has removed more than 130 million names from draft electoral rolls.
“This is not the voice of a single political party or of politicians. It is the voice of India’s youth, women, farmers and workers,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told the crowd. “We will not allow democracy to be destroyed in India. We will not allow the constitution to be destroyed.”
Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti, Supriya Sule and Tejashwi Yadav also attended, the BBC reported. Delhi Police required organisers to end the gathering by 5pm and keep protesters within the grounds.
The Election Commission says its Special Intensive Revision is meant to remove duplicate registrations and people who have died, moved or are otherwise ineligible. Senior BJP leader JP Nadda called the rally a “calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy – in the name of democracy”.
The rally follows weeks of protests over the revision, including demonstrations by students and the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party, which backed Sunday’s event but did not take part. India’s next general election is due in 2029.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera
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