Delhi shuts metro stations, restricts traffic ahead of new protest against election chief

NEW DELHI: Authorities closed six metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions in Delhi on Monday (Oct 12), 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 the Indian capital.

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 130 million names – more than the population of Japan – being deleted from voter lists, including the dead, the relocated and people who could not be traced.    

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 can re-enrol, while the BJP has accused its rivals of trying to undermine the country's democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes. 

Six metro stations were closed on Monday for "security reasons", and police imposed traffic restrictions and diversions along over 20 stretches.  

The main opposition Congress party 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. 

COCKROACH MOVEMENT TO SEEK PERMISSION FOR NEW PROTEST

Chief Justice Surya Kant, however, declined the meeting request in an email, saying Gandhi and the Congress delegation should instead approach the court legally since the issue is 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 protest call if a date is not given within 24 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 12 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.

Election Commission data shows about 130 million names have been deleted from electoral rolls during the verification exercise, including 28 million people who had died, 63 million who had relocated and 30 million who could not be traced.

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.