India deploys 20,000 security personnel ahead of protests

Summary

• Indian authorities have deployed more than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel in New Delhi ahead of planned opposition protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in voter registration.
• The demonstrations, scheduled for Saturday, follow growing criticism of the Election Commission of India’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
• Gandhi and other opposition leaders are also expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to raise their concerns over the electoral process and demand accountability from the election commission’s leadership.

AI Generated Summary

Indian authorities have deployed more than 20,000 police and paramilitary personnel in New Delhi ahead of planned opposition protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in voter registration.

The demonstrations, scheduled for Saturday, follow growing criticism of the Election Commission of India’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The commission says the exercise aims to remove duplicate and ineligible voters. However, opposition parties argue that the process could exclude eligible voters and benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).