NEW DELHI —
Opposition Leaders Detained in New Delhi Over Election Fraud Claims
Protest March Blocked by Police
NEW DELHI — Police detained dozens of opposition leaders in India’s capital on Monday during a march to the Election Commission. The protest targeted alleged voter list manipulation ahead of upcoming elections.
About 300 politicians, including senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, walked from parliament toward the commission’s office. Officers stopped them before they arrived and took them away in buses. Demonstrators shouted slogans against the commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, accusing them of “stealing” elections.
Congress Alleges Voter List Tampering
Gandhi said the protest aimed to defend the constitution, not promote party politics. He accused the government of removing and duplicating names on voter rolls to favor Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Opposition parties also criticized the commission’s decision to revise voter lists in Bihar before state elections. They said the move could strip poor citizens of their voting rights.
Commission and BJP Reject Charges
The Election Commission said it regularly updates lists to remove deceased voters and those who moved away. It stated that revisions are shared with all parties and that complaints are investigated.
Congress, which recently lost two state elections it expected to win, has also questioned electronic voting machines and vote counting. The commission rejected these claims.
BJP leader and federal minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused opposition parties of trying to create unrest. He said their repeated election losses had left them “in a state of bankruptcy.”
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