Hundreds of supporters of India’s “Cockroach” youth movement joined protests in New Delhi and the country’s financial hub of Mumbai on Friday, demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner over revisions to voter lists.
The movement, which began as an online campaign and now calls itself the Cockroach Janata Party, organised street protests that led to India’s education minister resigning in July.
In New Delhi, police prevented student and civil society groups from gathering at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, and detained dozens of protesters and some opposition leaders heading to the site, which had been barricaded.
The protests add to mounting pressure on India’s Election Commission, which oversees polls across the country. Critics and opposition parties accuse the commission of altering voter registrations to benefit the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.