Opposition prepares mass rally in Delhi against voter-roll purge
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Congress and allied forces are set to pack Delhi in a high-stakes protest demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner and sweeping electoral reform, amid outrage over a voter-list cleanup that erased 130 million names and is being denounced as a threat to democratic rights.
Thousands of people are expected to gather at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan in a rally organized by the Congress party and the wider INDIA alliance, a demonstration that opposition leaders say is meant to defend democracy from what they portray as an increasingly authoritarian electoral system. The event, scheduled to begin around noon, will press for the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and call for urgent reforms to the voter-list revision process known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The Election Commission of India says the exercise is designed to remove deceased voters and people who have moved away, but opposition leaders argue that it could hand an unfair advantage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party by excluding legitimate voters and weakening participation.
"The march was just the trailer," a party spokesperson told the BBC, insisting that the upcoming rally would be "several times bigger than that."
Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP, said the protest was against "the demolition of Indian democracy" and called on everyone who supports the Constitution and the right to vote to join. He also wrote on X, "Don't worry about the police, don't worry about lathis – the BJP will not have the guts to try any of their antics."
Delhi police have approved the rally with restrictions requiring it to end by 5 p.m., the installation of CCTV cameras at the venue, and a ban on marches outside the designated area. Authorities have deployed thousands of police and paramilitary personnel to secure the site and nearby roads.
Local traders gave mixed reactions: some said the protest could hurt business ahead of the Diwali festival, while others backed the rally and condemned a recent BJP-led march that disrupted the market.