Hundreds of opposition leaders and party workers marched through central New Delhi on Monday, stepping up pressure on India’s election watchdog over a contentious overhaul of voter rolls.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the main opposition Indian National Congress marched alongside prominent student groups to the Supreme Court demanding it takes action against alleged electoral manipulation. Their main demands are the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the voter-roll revisions.
Tensions have heightened in the city in the past three days as police detained thousands of people, including student leaders, barricaded roads and shut metro stations to prevent the protests from growing.
“Till the time the Constitution is not upheld, the Election Commissioner does not go and election system is not revamped, the youth of the country are not going to stop,” Gandhi told reporters Monday.
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐬 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ak3PyajdVs
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 12, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t publicly commented on the latest protests. His Bharatiya Janata Party has defended the voter-roll revision and accused opposition parties of attempting to undermine democratic institutions.
“We are not opposed to protests, but you have weaponized street protests because of your electoral defeats,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Saturday.
On Monday, police pushed back opposition supporters as they marched to the top court. Officers formed lines behind metal barricades as the crowds pressed forward, with some climbing onto the barriers amid the standoff.
Cockroach Party
The Cockroach Janta Party, which led some of India’s biggest student protests in years in July, was prevented from demonstrating over the weekend. Even so, its leaders vowed to continue pushing for Kumar’s exit.
Earlier Monday, authorities announced that it would no longer designate Jantar Mantar as the main protest site in New Delhi, angering the student leaders, who had been using the location in the center of their protests.
“Unacceptable,” said Saurav Das, one of the group’s leaders. “We do not accept this arbitrary decision. It is an assault on people’s fundamental right to protest and peaceful assembly.”
The government’s curbs this week come after the top court on Sunday ruled that peaceful, unarmed people cannot be detained where prohibitory orders aren’t in force. It also directed the government to ensure uninterrupted internet access and ease restrictions on metro and railway services.
The protests were triggered by a late-September investigation by the Indian Express alleging that Kumar ignored concerns raised by two election officials over a contentious revision of voter rolls that resulted in more than 130 million names excluded from draft rolls.
The Election Commission has denied the claims, saying its decisions were unanimous. It later also eased some voter-verification procedures, but the changes have done little to quell political pressure on the commission.
The demand for Kumar’s resignation comes ahead of key state elections, including next year’s vote in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, raising the political stakes for Modi’s ruling party and its opponents.
The weekend crackdown — including road closures, disruptions to internet and train services, and the detention of thousands of protesters — has put India’s handling of public dissent under greater scrutiny. The United Nations’ Human Rights Office has urged authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly.
India’s Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism as “unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of India,” saying authorities had acted in accordance with the law. Delhi Police said last week it had denied CJP permission to demonstrate.
| Read more about India’s Election Commission controversy: |
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| Why India’s Voter Roll Overhaul Is So Controversial: Explainer |
| India Police Detain Protesters, Lock Down Delhi Over Voter Rolls |
| Indian Opposition Leader Detained After Voter Roll Standoff |
The protests are the latest challenge for Modi’s government after thousands of angry students took to the streets in July over exam irregularities, forcing the education minister to resign. The police faced criticism at the time for heavy-handed methods in breaking up the student demonstrations.
The new wave of protests also comes at a difficult moment for the economy, with the government seeking to bolster investor confidence and boost growth. Indian equities have slumped, while the rupee is one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia this year.
On Saturday, the Reserve Bank of India broadened its defenses to steady the rupee, taking some of its strongest measures since the 2013 taper tantrum.