Indian Court Extends Custody of Two 'Cockroach' Leaders as Voter Roll Protests Persist

The youth-led movement and opposition parties led by Rahul Gandhi have staged weeks of demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a Special Intensive Revision that removed more than 130 million names, roughly the population of Mexico, from draft voter rolls. Critics and US Representative Pramila Jayapal have raised concerns over the purge, which opposition groups allege disproportionately disenfranchised Muslim and marginalized voters to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission and the BJP deny wrongdoing, saying the revision only removed deceased, duplicate and relocated voters and that eligible citizens can reapply via Form 6.