India’s bitter dispute over its voter register has entered a second day of mass arrests as demonstrators demand the resignation of the country’s election chief, while the Supreme Court steps in to protect lawyers and journalists covering the unrest.
Police detained hundreds of protesters in Delhi on Sunday as demonstrations continued over changes to India’s electoral register.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, amid allegations that a voter-list verification exercise unfairly benefits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Election Commission and BJP deny manipulation.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party has become one of the most visible groups behind the demonstrations.
Its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, and two other senior leaders were released following a court order after being detained on Saturday.
Police said about 2,400 people were detained on Saturday, with most later released.
Election Commission data shows approximately 130 million names have been removed from electoral rolls during the verification exercise, including deceased persons, people who relocated and those authorities could not trace.
At a rare Sunday sitting, India’s Supreme Court recorded a government assurance that lawyers and journalists would not be impeded in carrying out their duties.
Opposition groups continue to allege disproportionate impact on minorities, while election authorities insist wrongly deleted voters may re-register. Reuters
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