The two protest leaders were remanded on Wednesday over alleged repeated attempts to disturb public peace after scaling barricades at Jantar Mantar, a historic New Delhi protest venue that authorities stripped of its authorized status a day earlier. Amnesty International India board chair Aakar Patel called for their immediate release, saying authorities "cannot claim to protect the right to protest while denotifying established protest sites and arresting people who attempt to use them." US Representative Pramila Jayapal also criticized the voter roll purge, saying she was "deeply concerned" by the removal of 130 million people.
Opposition parties and youth activists allege the revisions disenfranchise eligible and minority voters to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission and the BJP deny wrongdoing, saying the Special Intensive Revision removes deceased, duplicate and relocated voters from draft rolls while allowing eligible citizens to reapply.