Thousands protest in India’s Bengaluru as ‘Cockroach’ movement demands election chief resign

BENGALURU, India — Thousands of supporters of India’s youth “Cockroach” movement and several student groups demonstrated in the southern city of Bengaluru on Thursday, stepping up a nationwide campaign that is demanding the election chief’s resignation over a revision of voter lists that has removed over 130 million people from the rolls.

The demonstration in Bengaluru came a day after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was briefly detained by police at a protest in New Delhi. Dramatic images of police dragging Gandhi into a vehicle spread widely on social media, adding momentum to the protests calling for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Gandhi’s Congress party and other opposition lawmakers also held protests in New Delhi on Thursday.

The nationwide voter list review, known as the Special Intensive Revision, has been carried out in most of India’s states and federally administered territories. More than 130 million names have been removed so far, a number larger than the populations of countries like Japan and Mexico. Millions of people have appealed the deletions.

The opposition says the removals have disproportionately affected voters who support them, while voters more likely to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party have been preserved or added…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world