Indian police use tear gas against protesters seeking election chief’s ouster
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Police personnel use a water cannon to disperse India’s Opposition Congress party supporters shouting slogans against India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation during a protest in Patna on Sept 25.
PHOTO: AFP
- Indian police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse Congress party protesters demanding the resignation of Election Chief Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll manipulation.
- Protests, backed by multiple opposition groups, threaten Prime Minister Modi's government amid accusations of election fraud benefiting the BJP, which both the commission and BJP deny.
- A report revealed internal dissent in the Election Commission, with Kumar's deputies questioning voter list changes, intensifying political tensions ahead of critical state elections in 2027 and parliamentary polls in 2029.
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MUMBAI – Indian police used tear gas and water cannons on Sept 25 to disperse opposition Congress party members during nationwide protests demanding the resignation of the head of the election commission, whom they accuse of manipulating voter rolls.
The “cockroach” youth movement, which counts millions of supporters and forced the education minister out in July, said it would launch protests across India on Oct 2 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Sept 26.
The protests, which are backed by other opposition groups, mark a new political challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Kumar, 62, a former civil servant, was appointed to head the independent Election Commission of India by Modi’s government.
“Theft of votes is happening across the country,” local Congress party leader Amarinder Singh Raja said in Chandigarh in the north-west, one of at least two places where police fired water cannon after protesters climbed buses and barricades.
Congress and other opposition parties have accused the election commission of colluding with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to manipulate voter lists and win state elections in recent years, charges both the commission and the BJP have denied.
Indian Youth Congress activists protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, on Sept 25, over controversies surrounding the revision of electoral rolls.
PHOTO: EPA
Kumar himself has not commented.
Newspaper reports dissent within the commission
In at least a dozen of India’s 28 states, Congress supporters shouted slogans against Kumar, held up posters demanding his arrest and in one instance, burned an effigy of him and Modi.
In the capital Delhi, hundreds of protesters climbed barricades and hurled insults at a man wearing a Kumar mask.
The demonstrations were triggered by a report in the Indian Express newspaper on Sept 23 that Kumar’s deputies had questioned him over changes to voter lists that opposition groups say benefit Modi’s BJP.
“For three years, I have been exposing vote theft. Now, the election commissioners themselves are acknowledging it and bringing the truth to light,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said late on Sept 24, referring to Kumar’s deputies.
“Gyanesh Kumar has committed treason. He should resign immediately,” he added.
The Election Commission said differences among officers were normal in any institution and that all its actions were lawful. The BJP dismissed the report and said that opposition parties were indulging in a smear campaign because popular support for the BJP meant they lost elections.
State elections in 2027 including in the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, and Modi’s home state of Gujarat, both ruled by the BJP, are key tests of support ahead of parliamentary elections due in 2029. REUTERS