Thackeray cousins lead Mumbai march against poll chief as protests grow

UPDATE - follow-up to Protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar: Over 500 protesters detained; AISA, Yogendra Yadav call for citizens' march again today: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena boss Raj Thackeray led a protest morcha in Mumbai on Sunday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The march started at Metro Cinema and moved toward the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in south Mumbai, with local leaders from the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) also joining in. Addressing the Garjana rally, Raj Thackeray called for future polls to be held through paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines and demanded the complete cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Maharashtra. He claimed that two crore voters were excluded in the state and 13 crore across the country, adding that voter exclusions also happened in Tamil Nadu and Bengal. Uddhav Thackeray slammed the CEC during the rally, calling him a weapon of the ruling BJP. Meanwhile, the controversy in Delhi deepened over police action during earlier protests near Jantar Mantar. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged sexual harassment of female journalists and students by police personnel. She noted that despite protests by journalists, no First Information Report has been registered yet by the Delhi Police. A woman journalist earlier filed a complaint accusing an assistant commissioner of police of sexual harassment and pushing during reporting. AISA members also alleged that a male police officer manhandled Neha Bora during the police action and that another Delhi Police officer abused her.

Context

These protests follow widespread opposition demand for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner over electoral roll revision issues. Major political parties and civil society groups have staged demonstrations across multiple cities to raise concerns about the transparency of the poll process. General public interest remains high as various opposition leaders continue to press for accountability from election authorities.