Indian opposition protests voter-roll revision as lawmakers are detained

Indian police detained opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other lawmakers in New Delhi on Tuesday during a march demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Police said protesters were removed after attempting to breach barricades near the Election Commission’s headquarters and were released shortly afterward.

Opposition parties said 237 lawmakers joined the march. After being stopped, protesters staged a sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan, where police later removed them. A complaint was registered against the Gandhi siblings for allegedly entering the building without permission, according to reports citing the Press Trust of India.

The demonstrations are part of widening protests over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of voter lists. The commission says the process is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries while retaining legitimate voters. Opposition parties and civil-society groups argue that documentation requirements could exclude eligible voters, particularly poorer and vulnerable communities, and allege the changes favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP and Election Commission deny wrongdoing or political bias.

Protests were also held in Ranchi, where Congress activists scuffled with police and blackened an Election Commission sign after being prevented from entering the state election office. Further demonstrations were planned by opposition parties and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party.

The protests intensified after The Indian Express reported that two election commissioners had raised repeated objections to decisions allegedly issued without their knowledge. The Election Commission has said its decisions were unanimous and legally valid.