Youth party and student groups rally to demand resignation of India's election chief

On Friday, the Cockroach Janata Party, a youth movement that grew out of online anger over unemployment and exam-paper leaks, will hold a demonstration in Mumbai and expand protests across India, demanding the resignation of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Simultaneously, student and activist coalitions will assemble at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, echoing the call for Kumar’s removal. Protesters allege that the Election Commission’s recent voter-verification exercise unfairly trimmed millions of eligible voters to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, a charge the commission and the government reject.

The controversy intensified after one outlet revealed that two deputy commissioners had formally complained at least fourteen times over the past ten months about roll revisions and digital systems. Opposition parties led by the Congress plan their own demonstrations on October 6, while the Election Commission maintains that internal disagreements are normal and its actions were lawful.