India court seeks explanations from election body in voter list row
India's Supreme Court ordered the government and the Election Commission to explain decisions behind a sweeping voter roll revision after reports that two of the commission's three members formally objected at least 14 times to key decisions in the process. Opposition parties and activists accuse commission chief Gyanesh Kumar of improperly removing millions of names, disproportionately affecting Muslim and marginalized communities, and are demanding his resignation.
The commission says the revision targets fraudulently registered voters and foreign illegal immigrants, and denies any wrongdoing. The court, for its part, noted that newspaper reports could be entirely accurate, partially so, or wrong, and said it wants the commission's own response before drawing conclusions.
Protests including a Congress party march to the commission's New Delhi offices and planned nationwide rallies are set to continue, alongside a reportedly heavy police presence and weekend detentions near a central protest site.
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