India's Cockroach Janata Party, student groups to protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face renewed pressure on Friday as the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janata Party and a separate coalition of student and activist groups stage fresh protests, demanding the resignation of the elections commission chief over a controversial voter roll revision.



The CJP will rally in Mumbai and plans to expand demonstrations nationwide in the coming days, while student and civil society groups will gather at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar.



The protests mark the latest escalation in a dispute that has put unprecedented scrutiny on India's Election Commission, long regarded as one of the country's most trusted institutions.



The protesters' main allegation is that the commission manipulated voter rolls in ways that favour Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The commission and the government have denied the allegations.



Pressure on Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified last month after the Indian Express newspaper reported the election chief's two deputies had formally raised concerns at least 14 times over the past 10 months over voter-list revisions, registration procedures and the commission's digital systems.