India protests over voter-roll changes continue for a third day amid police detentions

Thousands of protesters continued to gather in New Delhi and Mumbai on Sunday for a third day of demonstrations over disputed voter-roll revisions, keeping pressure on India's election authorities. The rallies were organised around demands for the resignation of Election Commission of India chief Gyanesh Kumar. Protesters say the revisions have removed millions of eligible voters from the rolls, an allegation the commission and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party deny.

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In Mumbai, thousands marched under the leadership of opposition figures Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, waving Indian flags and calling for Kumar to step down. In New Delhi, people began assembling in the early evening, but police again moved to stop crowds from forming in the centre of the capital. According to reports from the scene, some protesters were detained as they arrived, while police also registered cases against some people for violating orders banning mass gatherings.

The Election Commission says the voter-roll exercise is meant to remove duplicate, deceased or otherwise ineligible entries and to protect electoral integrity. It has also directed officials to restore eligible voters who were inadvertently left off the lists. Kumar has not publicly responded to the resignation demands, and the protests appear likely to continue, with more rallies planned in the coming days.

The dispute has become politically significant because it touches on the credibility of voter registration in India, where the election commission is a central institution in the democratic process. Allegations that eligible voters have been removed have sharpened opposition claims that the exercise could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party. That has turned what began as an administrative revision into a wider confrontation over trust in election management.

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The mobilisation has also drawn in broader opposition coordination. An alliance of opposition parties plans to launch protests to "save democracy" with a march to the election commission office on Tuesday. The row has added scrutiny to the commission's internal handling of the revision, after reports that some election commissioners had objected to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge.

What remains unclear is whether the police will widen their response, whether the commission will issue a fuller public defence of the revision, and how many more people may join the planned protests. It is also not yet clear whether the opposition's planned march will proceed without further detentions or legal action. For now, the dispute remains focused on voter lists, protest policing and the authority of one of India's key democratic institutions.

Thousands of people continued protesting in Delhi and Mumbai on Sunday over large-scale changes to voter rolls, extending a dispute that has already drawn in opposition figures and student activists. The demonstrations were linked to demands for the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They also came after three female journalists accused police officers of sexual harassment during the street protests in the capital.

Delhi Police said its New Delhi District had received the complaint and transferred it to the crime branch for what it described as a fair and impartial inquiry. The allegations included inappropriate touching, while videos circulating online showed protesters being physically dragged away from the Jantar Mantar protest site in central Delhi. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said women feared for their safety and said the home ministry must answer for the allegations.

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The Election Commission says the voter-roll exercise is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries, and it says 130 million names have so far been struck off the voters' list. Protesters argue the revision will benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, turning an administrative exercise into a wider political confrontation. The unrest has also highlighted tensions around policing of demonstrations, after scores of young people were detained on Saturday during calls for the election chief to step down.

The dispute matters because it goes to the heart of voter registration and confidence in election administration in India, the world's largest democracy. The Election Commission is a central institution in the political system, and allegations that eligible voters are being removed can quickly become a broader test of trust in democratic oversight. The protests have also shown how quickly concerns about electoral procedure can merge with claims about civil liberties and police conduct.

The current mobilisation has been driven in part by the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led pressure group that has previously forced a minister to resign after weeks of protests. The group called for the latest demonstrations after reporting suggested that two other election commissioners had formally objected to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge. That has added to scrutiny of the commission's internal functioning and the way the revision has been handled.

What remains unclear is how the police complaint will be handled and whether any officers will face disciplinary action. It is also not yet known whether the protests will spread further or whether the Election Commission will make any new public response to the allegations and demands. For now, the dispute continues to combine questions over electoral administration, protest policing and the credibility of one of India's key democratic institutions.

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