New Delhi (Monitoring Desk) — A youth movement active in India under the name “Cockroach Janta Party” has demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, giving him 48 hours to step down.
Movement founder Abhijit Dipke said that if Gyanesh Kumar did not resign within 48 hours, nationwide protests would be launched.
The announcement came after a report by the Indian newspaper The Indian Express, according to which Election Commission members Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised questions or expressed concerns at least 14 times over the past 10 months on various matters, including changes to voter lists. According to the report, most of the objections were related to the special revision of voter lists.
Indian opposition parties have also continued to criticize the Election Commission over the process of deleting names from voter lists and adding new names. The Congress has also announced protest marches in front of state election offices across the country against the Chief Election Commissioner. The protests will demand Gyanesh Kumar’s removal from office and an independent review of decisions taken during his tenure and changes made to voter lists.
On the other hand, the Election Commission said that differences of opinion among members of the three-member commission can be part of the normal decision-making process and that different views are considered before a final decision is reached. The commission has declared all its actions lawful.
The “Cockroach Janta Party” had also been active in youth protests in July. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party rejected opposition allegations against the Election Commission, saying that the commission is a constitutional institution and is functioning democratically.
Thus, the revision of voter lists and differences within the Election Commission have emerged as a new political controversy in India.