Political pressure on the government of India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is growing. A movement led by young people over unemployment, students’ anger and allegations of irregularities in elections has now taken on a new dimension.
A commentary on the movement says irregularities in the entrance examination for India’s medical colleges and the cancellation of the examination created wide anger among students. Protests began across the country. The suicides of several students in despair made the situation more complicated still.
Then a derogatory remark by India’s chief justice about unemployed young people stirred the anger afresh. Lastly, the fact that allegations against the chief election commissioner arose from inside the Election Commission itself gave the movement new momentum.
Two election commissioners have accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of alleged irregularities in the removal of the names of about 130 million voters from the electoral rolls. The writer claims these steps had affected the results of the elections in Bihar and West Bengal in the BJP’s favour.
Paramilitary forces and police have been deployed in Delhi to control the movement. Security personnel have been brought from various areas, among them Jammu and Kashmir. Some forces on duty at the Pakistan border have also been deployed.
Support for the movement from various opposition parties is growing. But there is a contest between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party to take political credit for the students’ movement. Political strain between the two parties may grow, particularly ahead of next year’s Punjab election.
Questioning the removal of names from the electoral rolls and the neutrality of the electoral system is an important part of the movement. The present movement is linked to the political campaign against electoral irregularities that began in 2023 under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report