Can India’s ‘cockroach’ movement oust Modi’s election chief?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that central New Delhi was heavily restricted on Friday as police detained hundreds of protesters who took part in a new wave of youth-led demonstrations demanding the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. Authorities closed metro stations, suspended internet services and blocked access to protest sites near Parliament Street and Jantar Mantar, the same area that had hosted earlier student mobilizations.

The protests were organized by the so-called “cockroach” movement and backed by opposition parties and unions. Demonstrators say the election commission has lost public trust, pointing to a recent investigation by the Indian Express that described internal disagreement within the commission over changes to India’s voter rolls. Critics argue the revision of electoral lists has removed millions of names and could disproportionately affect poorer communities, minorities and other vulnerable groups. The election commission has not directly disputed the findings, according to the report.

The movement is trying to build on its recent success in forcing out India’s education minister, and its leaders say the issue of who gets to vote cuts across party lines. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has also attacked Kumar, while analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said his resignation would be a major political setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The article also places Kumar within Modi’s wider governing project, noting his past roles on Kashmir policy and the Ram Temple process. That background, combined with his current role overseeing elections, helps explain why his position has become such a sensitive target for protesters and the opposition.