Indian authorities tightened security across the capital and shut a park in central New Delhi on Friday ahead of a flag-waving rally organised by the youth-led “Cockroach” movement, which is demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief.
Protests by young people and opposition parties have intensified over a revision of voter lists that has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics allege the process is politically motivated, risks disenfranchising millions more voters and disproportionately affects minorities, particularly Muslims. They have called for Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar to step down.
The Election Commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government have rejected the allegations, saying the exercise aims to eliminate duplicate and ineligible entries from voter lists.
Friday’s rally is part of an expanding protest campaign that has increased pressure on Modi’s government. It comes a week after police cracked down on demonstrators in New Delhi.
Modi has yet to publicly address the protests. Some leaders from his party have labelled the demonstrators “anarchists” and claimed, without providing evidence, that foreign powers are supporting them.
“Waving the tricolor (Indian flag) is not a crime,” Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the “Cockroach” movement, said Thursday. He called on supporters unable to reach the capital to wave the national flag and hold demonstrations in their local communities.
Police urged people to stay away from the rally but said a small group could be permitted to wave the national flag and sing the national anthem at an authorised venue.
The movement emerged this summer as an online satirical campaign after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites. Many young Indians adopted the cockroach as a symbol of resilience.
The campaign has since evolved into a nationwide youth protest movement. Demonstrations organised by the group forced Modi’s education minister to resign in July, marking a rare setback for the prime minister, who has been in power for more than 12 years.