‘Vote thief, leave’: Gen Z-led protests erupt in Delhi, several detained

Indian police detained several people in New Delhi on Saturday as Gen Z-led protesters and opposition groups took to the streets for a second day against changes to the country’s voter rolls, Reuters reports.

Around 100 demonstrators removed security barricades and chanted slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before police forcibly detained some of them.

Independent MP Kapil Sibal, All India Students’ Association President Neha Bora, and political activists Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were among those participating in the protest, according to a Reuters witness. Police did not disclose the number or identities of those detained.

The demonstrations are backed by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other opposition groups, who accuse the Election Commission of changes to voter rolls that they say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“First they removed people from the voters list and now they are not letting us raise our voice against this. This is not acceptable,” Bora told Reuters.

The protests come amid a nationwide voter-verification exercise launched last year. Critics allege the process has resulted in millions of eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls.

The Election Commission, however, says the exercise is aimed at removing duplicate, deceased and otherwise ineligible voters. The commission has also directed officials to register newly eligible voters and those who were omitted from the rolls.

Friday’s protests in Delhi also saw police bundle demonstrators into buses, while several nearby metro stations were closed amid heightened security. Several people detained that day were later charged with allegedly violating orders restricting mass gatherings in the capital, according to a police source.

The CJP has emerged as a prominent youth movement in India this year and has joined opposition groups in demanding Kumar’s resignation. The protests have spread beyond Delhi, with CJP supporters also demonstrating in Mumbai and plans for further actions in other cities.

The Election Commission has defended the voter-verification process and denied allegations of political manipulation. It recently ordered a review of its voter-roll software after reports of internal concerns over the revisions.

The latest demonstrations add to a series of youth-led protests that have emerged in India this year, creating a new challenge for Modi’s government.