India voter list dispute: protest outside Election Commission, leftist leader detained

Police in the Indian capital New Delhi have detained leftist party leaders and activists who were protesting outside the Election Commission headquarters.

Among those detained is Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI-M, General Secretary MA Baby. Police are also reported to have taken CPI-ML central committee members Sucheta De and Shweta Raj into custody.

Leaders and activists from trade unions including AICCTU and AILAJ also took part in the protest. Protesters had demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

CPI-M issued a statement accusing police of using force instead of listening to their demands.

At the center of the dispute is the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of the voter list. After allegations surfaced that a large number of voters' names had been removed with the help of software, opposition alliance parties have opened a front against the commission.

Various media outlets have reported that the chief commissioner made certain changes without the consent of the two other commissioners on the three-member panel. A youth movement, the Cockroach Movement, has also announced a "fill the jails" campaign against the commission.