Crowds took to the streets of New Delhi on Sunday to demand the resignation of India's election chief over alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls, following calls to action by the Indian National Congress (INC), the country's main opposition party.
The rally, promoted with the slogan "Save the Vote, Save the Nation," called on the Election Commission to explain the removal of 130 million voters from draft electoral rolls.
"It is the duty of the Election Commission to see that not a single vote is deleted. People, they realize that once the right to vote is gone, once they do not have the voting right, then there is no accountability that can be fixed on government," said Gurmeet Sapal, a leading member of the INC.
Among the demonstrators were members of regional parties, opposition leaders, student organizations, political pressure groups and civil society groups.
Some citizens unaffiliated with any political party also joined the protest.
"This particular matter is such that the common citizens have to stand together. I have not come for any political party, but we are aligned with the call that they have made because if we don't stand up now, then our democracy is in danger. And I definitely want to stand for that," said Anant, a protester.
"If this is gone and this is a direct path towards totalitarianism, and if that happens, then it's almost like a point of no return. So I think this is a crisis moment for our democracy. And I think all citizens have to come together for that," said a demonstrator named Bharat.
Indian opposition leads protest in Delhi against voter list revision
