Authorities in India’s capital closed six metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions on Monday, as opposition parties planned to march to the supreme court in protest against a controversial revision of voter lists that has sparked days of unrest in Delhi.
Opposition parties and supporters of the “cockroach” youth movement have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the revision that critics say benefits prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).
The revision that started last year saw over ۱۳۰ million names – more than the population of Japan – deleted from voter lists during a verification exercise, including ۳۰ million who could not be traced. Others included ۲۸ million people who had died, and ۶۳ million who had relocated.
Opposition parties allege Muslim voters and other minorities, who are unlikely to support the Hindu nationalist ruling party, are disproportionately affected by the deletions – charges both the poll panel and BJP reject.
Police detained thousands of protesters in Delhi over the weekend, including leaders of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP), as supporters of the youth movement sought to march in protest and were stopped by thousands of security personnel who locked down central Delhi.
The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters could re-enrol, while the BJP has accused its rivals of trying to undermine the country’s democracy by questioning legitimate electoral processes.
Police said the six metro stations were closed on Monday for “security reasons” and traffic restrictions and diversions would be imposed in ۲۰ locations.
The main opposition Congress party has announced a march to the supreme court to submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice demanding an end to what it calls “vote theft” and Kumar’s resignation.
“Youth, all opposition parties, civil society groups, all those who believe in democracy and stand by the Constitution of India, will walk with us,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on X.
Chief Justice Surya Kant, however, declined a meeting request in an email, saying Gandhi and the Congress delegation should instead approach the court legally since the issue was already being heard by the court and should be addressed through judicial proceedings, a Congress source said.
Separately, the CJP said its leaders would meet Delhi police to “demand” a date for a peaceful protest. It has threatened to announce a new call to protest if a date is not given within ۲۴ hours.
The youth movement, which has mobilised protests in recent months against issues ranging from government school infrastructure to jobs, is one of the biggest political challenges to Modi and his BJP in his ۱۲ years in power.
The protests erupted after the Indian Express newspaper reported last month that Kumar’s two deputies raised several concerns internally about voter list revisions, registration procedures and digital systems.
