Thousands of police officers and security personnel were deployed across central New Delhi for a third straight day.
Published On 12 Oct 2026
Thousands of opposition party supporters have marched to India’s Supreme Court in New Delhi to demand the resignation of the country’s election chief over a major revision to India’s voter rolls which critics say will lead to mass disenfranchisement.
Al Jazeera’s Yashraj Sharma reported from the Indian capital on Monday that masses of protesters marched up roads leading to the Supreme Court chanting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and election commission chief Gyanesh Kumar.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Authorities closed half a dozen Delhi Metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions in the capital on Monday in the run-up to the demonstrations.
Thousands of police and security personnel were deployed across central New Delhi for a third successive day, erecting heavy metal barricades in advance of a march called by Rahul Gandhi, head of the Congress party and leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
Indian media reported that Gandhi filed a petition with the Supreme Court Monday on behalf of opposition leaders against the country’s election commission.
‘Cockroach’ Party
Opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth movement have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand the resignation of election commission chief Kumar over revisions to electoral lists that critics say benefit Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Police detained thousands of protesters over the weekend as supporters of the youth-led movement attempted to hold a protest march but were stopped by security personnel.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), which oversees the voting process in the world’s most populous nation, has denied any wrongdoing.
Opposition figures have accused authorities of trying to suppress dissent through mass detentions.
Parliamentarian John Brittas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged he was “manhandled, dragged, assaulted” by police during the demonstrations on Sunday.
“This is not merely an assault on an MP. It is an assault on democratic freedoms and the rule of law,” he said.
Police did not respond to questions about the detentions or their actions during a news conference on Sunday.
Several journalists covering the protest said they were also detained, despite prominently displaying their press cards.
International NGO Reporters Without Borders said at least 16 journalists were “brutally” detained while covering the protests over the weekend.
“Covering events of public interest is not a crime. It is their job. The police’s actions against the press are unacceptable,” it said in a statement.
Gandhi, a Congress party leader, urged supporters to join Monday’s march to the Supreme Court to press for Kumar’s resignation.
“Bring as much police as you want — 10 thousand, 20 thousand, 40 thousand, go ahead. Call as many BJP-RSS goons as you need,” he said in a post on X directed at Home Minister Amit Shah.
Pledge to continue
“We are not the ones to get scared. We are not the ones to back down. This fight is not going to stop now!”
The leaders of the youth-led CJP movement, which has millions of social media followers, have also pledged to continue their protests until Kumar steps down.
The protests have become one of the most significant political challenges for Modi in his 12 years in power, bringing together opposition parties, student groups and activists angered by the voter roll revisions.
The revisions resulted in more than 133 million names being removed from electoral lists, according to media reports. Critics say minorities, particularly Muslims, were disproportionately affected.
The ECI says the move was intended to eliminate duplicate, deceased and fraudulent entries.
