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Train passengers watch opposition protesters marching toward Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 1 (local time), demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. / Reuters-Yonhap

India's opposition parties held a large-scale street rally in the capital, New Delhi, to protest the removal of more than 130 million names from voter rolls and demand the resignation of the country's chief election commissioner.

According to Reuters on Nov. 2 (local time), thousands of protesters led by Rahul Gandhi of the main opposition Indian National Congress (INC) marched through central New Delhi to Ramlila Maidan, the rally venue, the previous day. Opposition leaders riding in an open-top jeep led the march. Indian authorities had announced traffic diversions in advance and significantly tightened security around the rally site, deploying hundreds of security personnel armed with batons and shields, along with riot-control vehicles.

Taking the stage, Gandhi demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying his departure would be the first step toward putting the country "back on the right track." Condemning the mass deletion of names from voter rolls, he described it as "stealing the voice and right to express themselves of every Indian citizen" and "a betrayal of the nation and an act of treason."

The revision of voter rolls criticized by the opposition began last year in the eastern state of Bihar and expanded to most of India's states and union territories. So far, more than 130 million names have been removed from the rolls, exceeding Japan's entire population. Opposition parties and protesters claim the process has favored the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In particular, they argue that Muslim voters and other minority groups, who are considered less likely to support the BJP, have been disproportionately affected.

People whose names had actually been removed from the voter rolls also attended the rally. Reena Mahto, a member of the Congress party's student wing, said four members of her family had been removed from the rolls because of a false record indicating that they had moved elsewhere, even though the family had lived for a long time in Jagdalpur, in the central state of Chhattisgarh.

"We were suddenly classified as having moved," she said. "I came here to hold the authorities accountable."

Another participant, Dinesh Singh, who said he did not support any political party, explained that he had joined the rally for his children's future. "I hope my children remember that we fought for their future," he said.

The Election Commission and the ruling party, however, have categorically rejected the opposition's allegations. The commission explained that the voter-roll revision was intended to remove duplicate registrations and ineligible voters, that it had not favored any particular party and that voters whose names were removed by mistake could register again. The ruling BJP also countered that opposition parties were trying to undermine democracy by questioning legitimate electoral procedures.

Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda described the day's rally as a "carefully orchestrated drama" in remarks to local news agency ANI. "What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy. It is a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, all in the name of democracy," he said.

The rally was a continuation of near-daily protests since late September by opposition parties, student groups and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding Kumar's resignation. The CJP had also led protests in July that resulted in the resignation of the education minister.

The series of protests intensified after local daily The Indian Express reported that two election commissioners other than Kumar had raised various concerns internally about voter-roll revisions, registration procedures and the operation of digital systems.

Reuters assessed that the protests, which have continued for more than a month, and growing support for the opposition represent the worst crisis Modi has faced since taking office in 2014.

                                                                                                               Jeong Ri-na