India opposition plans New Delhi protest to demand election chief resign

Thousands of security personnel have been deployed across New Delhi in advance of protest calling for the election chief’s resignation.Authorities have closed half a dozen Delhi Metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions in New Delhi as opposition parties prepare to march to the Supreme Court to protest against a controversial revision of voter lists that has led to disruptions in the Indian capital.Thousands of police officers and security personnel were deployed across central New Delhi on Monday for a third straight day, erecting heavy metal barricades and closing key metro rail stations in advance of a march called by Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What’s behind the vote-by-mail controversy in the US?list 2 of 3Why are election officials in the US preparing for chaos before midterms?list 3 of 3US Republicans, independents express low trust in election integrity: Pollend of listOpposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth movement have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over revisions to voter lists that critics say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Police detained thousands of protesters over the weekend as supporters of the youth-led movement attempted to hold a protest march but were stopped by security personnel, with thousands of people detained.The India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="3902" data-entity-type="organization">Election Commission of India (ECI), which oversees the voting process in the world’s most populous nation, has denied wrongdoing.Opposition figures have accused authorities of trying to suppress dissent through mass detentions.Parliamentarian John Brittas of the India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="122048" data-entity-type="organization">Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged he was “manhandled, dragged, assaulted” by police during the demonstrations on Sunday.