▲ A woman is detained during a protest demanding the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner
Protests demanding the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner are intensifying amid allegations that over 130 million voters were purged from electoral rolls to favor the ruling party.
An online political youth movement led by India's Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2007) is spearheading the demonstrations, joined by opposition parties, posing a growing challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long-standing rule.
Last month, Indian newspaper The Indian Express first reported allegations surrounding the Election Commission's voter lists.
According to the report, during the process where the Election Commission removed millions of names from the draft voter rolls, two election commissioners reportedly voiced opposition to the revision, stating that certain decisions and orders had been made without their knowledge.
Through the Election Commission's voter roll revision, 133 million names were removed—a number exceeding the entire population of Japan.
This reportedly included 28 million deceased persons, 63 million migrants, and 30 million people whose whereabouts were unknown.
Allegations have also emerged that opposition supporters were deleted from the rolls in large numbers, raising concerns that Prime Minister Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could gain an unfair advantage in upcoming elections.
However, the Election Commission of India pushed back, stating that differences of opinion among commissioners are routine in any institution and that no improper conduct took place.
The commission explained that the revision was aimed at eliminating duplicate entries, deceased individuals, and fraudulent registrations, adding that wrongfully deleted voters could re-register.
Despite the commission's explanation, thousands of members of the Gen Z political movement 'Cockroach Janata Party' (CJP) staged their first protest on October 2 in Mumbai, the country's financial capital, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Subsequently, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of about 20 opposition parties including the main opposition Indian National Congress (INC), joined the protests.
The INC demanded the resignation not only of Chief Election Commissioner Kumar but also of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Former INC president Rahul Gandhi said, "There is nothing to fear," adding, "These cowards cannot do anything to us."
Protests escalated further over the past weekend on October 10 and 11.
As the CJP planned a massive rally in the capital New Delhi, the Indian government deployed about 60,000 security personnel, including police officers, effectively locking down the entire National Capital Region of Delhi.
Indian police set up barricades and concrete blocks along major entry points into the city to halt vehicular traffic and ramped up security checks.
Authorities also shut down 45 metro stations and suspended mobile internet networks in downtown areas and near planned protest sites.
Indian police stated that 2,400 people were detained and taken into custody on October 10 alone, with most released later that night.
However, the CJP claimed that over 10,000 protesters were arrested by police across the country.
Journalists covering the protests on the ground were also detained by police in succession.
Several of them were holding microphones and wearing press credentials around their necks, Reuters reported.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the France-based international press freedom organization, criticized the police actions as unacceptable, stating that at least 16 journalists were detained.
RSF emphasized, "Covering matters of public interest is not a crime," adding, "It is their job."
Sporadic protests continued in Delhi on October 11, while smaller demonstrations involving dozens of people took place in cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata.
Abhita Ruheja, who was detained after participating in the protest, criticized the government for turning Delhi into a fortress.
"They have taken away our rights one by one, and it is turning into a dictatorship," she told Reuters. "Is this how democracy works?"
Three leaders of the CJP—founder Abhijit Deepke, 31, co-founder Saurav Das, and spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka—who were attempting to join the New Delhi demonstration, were also arrested at Delhi Airport on October 10.
They were released a day later on October 11 under the condition that they would not breach the peace for the next year, but they vowed to continue protesting until Chief Election Commissioner Kumar resigns.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) shortly after his release, Deepke took aim at Prime Minister Modi, calling him a "disgrace to India" and claiming, "There has never been a bigger coward and tyrant in this country's history."
Deepke added, "I did not sign any pledge agreeing not to protest," stating, "We will take to the streets again."
The CJP, which led the latest demonstrations, was founded in May within a single day after controversial remarks by then-Chief Justice Surya Kant, who compared unemployed youths to cockroaches, came to light.
At the time, allegations of question paper leaks surfaced ahead of the undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), leading the CJP to spearhead protests in New Delhi for nearly two months demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Indian Gen Z responded enthusiastically to the group.
The CJP's Instagram account now has over 25 million followers.
That figure far surpasses the 15 million followers of the ruling BJP.
In July, violent clashes erupted between police using tear gas and batons and thousands of CJP protesters attempting to march toward Parliament in New Delhi.
As demonstrations subsequently spread to eastern West Bengal and southern Telangana, Pradhan eventually resigned.
He was the first minister in Modi's cabinet to step down under the pressure of large-scale protests.
At the time, the CJP's demonstrations were credited with bringing issues of job scarcity and unfair educational opportunities to the forefront of public debate.
While India is the world's fastest-growing major economy, the youth unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 24 remains high at around 20%.
In particular, about one-third of bachelor's and master's degree holders are reportedly unemployed.
Following the CJP protests, Prime Minister Modi sought to appease young people, promising that the government would provide free online prep courses for various entrance exams.
However, foreign media noted that the CJP's renewed protests demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation, emerging just about two months later, represent the most significant political challenge of Modi's 12-year rule.
Previously in 2019, protests broke out across India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), resulting in more than 20 deaths.
The British daily The Guardian noted, "While the Modi government has shown an extremely intolerant approach toward dissent throughout its time in power, nationwide protests of this scale have been rare," pointing out that "this protest could pose a serious political challenge."
With elections for major state legislative assemblies scheduled for next year, including in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous northern state, the protests are expected to add further political pressure on Prime Minister Modi and the ruling party.
AFP reported that Deepke, a Boston University graduate and founder of the CJP, has emerged as a symbol of the opposition movement in India.
"The massive crackdown on protesters and the lockdown of Delhi is not a sign of strength, but of a leader who fears his own people," Deepke remarked. "Prime Minister Modi conceded defeat before the protest even began."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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