Thousands protest in Bengaluru as 'Cockroach' movement demands election chief resign

BENGALURU, India: Thousands of supporters of India’s youth "Cockroach” movement and several student groups demonstrated in the southern city of Bengaluru on Thursday, stepping up a nationwide campaign that is demanding the election chief’s resignation over a contentious revision of voter lists that has removed over 130 million people from the rolls.

The demonstration in Bengaluru came a day after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained by police at a protest in New Delhi. Dramatic images of police dragging Gandhi into a vehicle spread widely on social media, adding momentum to the protests calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Gandhi’s Congress party has called for more protests in New Delhi later Thursday.

The nationwide voter list review, known as the Special Intensive Revision, has been carried out in most of India’s states and federally administered territories. More than 130 million names have been removed so far, a number larger than the populations of countries like Japan and Mexico. Millions of people have appealed the deletions.

The opposition says the removals have disproportionately affected voters who support them, while voters more likely to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party have been preserved or added to the lists. The election commission and the government reject the allegations, saying the revision is aimed at removing duplicate and ineligible entries.

Those whose names have been struck off the list can appeal, but getting back on the rolls can be difficult. Critics say the requirements are confusing and some people may not have required documents such as older government records.

The anger intensified last month following an investigation by the Indian Express newspaper that found two election commissioners had raised concerns about the process.

The campaign has been led in part by the "Cockroach” movement, which began as an online youth campaign in May and has since organized street protests across the country. Its earlier nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes over exam paper leaks led to the resignation of Modi’s education minister in July.

Opposition leader Gandhi also emerging as a prominent face of the protest. Protesters are demanding Kumar’s resignation and an end to the removals, warning that they could disenfranchise millions more voters.

The protests pose a political challenge to Modi midway through his third term, as opposition parties seek to turn growing anger into a broader national campaign.

The "Cockroach” movement has called for more protests in New Delhi starting Saturday, with thousands expected to march to Jantar Mantar, the capital’s designated protest site. Police have already barricaded the area ahead of the demonstrations.