"Cockroach" movement returns to Indian streets in protest against Modi
The Indian youth movement “Sarvodaya” plans to organize new protests in the capital, New Delhi, on Saturday, escalating a campaign against the revision of voter rolls, which has sparked outrage against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and the electoral authorities.
Authorities have cordoned off the protest site with yellow metal barriers and deployed thousands of police officers in the area and its surroundings. Restrictions on train services and metro stations are also expected to disrupt movement across the capital, making it difficult for protesters to reach the square.
The protests focus on what the Election Commission of India calls the “Special Intensive Revision” of voter rolls, a process that the opposition claims has disenfranchised millions of eligible citizens.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of Election Commission Chief Jitendra Kumar and an end to the revision process, which has so far led to the removal of more than 130 million names from the rolls, according to reports.
This dispute places the electoral process at the heart of the confrontation between protesters and authorities, with opponents arguing that the revision infringes on citizens’ right to participate, while the government and the commission defend it as a measure to clean up the rolls.
The call to demonstrate comes at a sensitive time, months after protests led by the “Sarvodaya” movement over exam paper leaks forced Education Minister in Modi’s government to resign last July.
The movement is now returning to the streets with a new issue concerning voting rights, leveraging the momentum it gained during its previous protests, while authorities seek to restrict the anticipated gathering in the capital.
Between the demands to halt the revision of the rolls and the authorities’ insistence on continuing the process, Saturday’s protests serve as a test of the movement’s ability to expand its campaign amid a heavy security presence and restrictions on communications and movement.
