Leaders of India's 'cockroach' youth movement said on Thursday they would launch protests across the country if the head of the national election authority does not resign within 48 hours.
The call for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation came a day after a report of differences among top officials on the poll panel over the overhaul of eligibility, which has led to millions of voters losing their right to cast ballots.
The Indian Express newspaper said two members of the Election Commission have expressed concern to Mr Kumar at least 14 times in 10 months. Their concerns were overlooked, with some decisions made without their knowledge, the newspaper said.
The Election Commission of India said differences were normal in any institution and insisted all its actions were legal.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth-led movement calling itself the Cockroach Janata Party, issued the ultimatum for Mr Kumar to resign at a press conference in New Delhi.
Cockroach Janata Party
“We will do a nationwide agitation and we will do a sit-in protest in Delhi,” Mr Dipke said. More details would be announced soon, he added.
Opposition parties are also demanding Mr Kumar’s removal, accusing him of isolating the commission members.
The CJP began as a satirical online movement in May before leading one of India’s largest youth-led protests in years. The weeks-long activism over exam irregularities featured demonstrators calling for the resignation of education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, who stepped down in July.
Since then, CJP members have spread activism across India, inspecting government schools and pressing state authorities to address shortcomings in infrastructure, staffing and basic facilities.
Following the Indian Express report, CJP co-convener Saurav Das said the group’s efforts to audit school infrastructure and tackle corruption would mean little if people were deprived of their right to vote.
“Nothing is going to work because Election Commission is compromised,” Mr Das said in a video posted on X.
On Thursday, the CJP also called for a halt to the ongoing revision of voter rolls and the creation of an independent commission to investigate decisions made during the process. Mr Das also demanded criminal proceedings against Mr Kumar.
