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![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/c5e418da14fe9bee0dc475d1161b7153_Orioles_Robert_Baseball_5494_.jpg.webp\")
<\/p>\nFILE – Baltimore Orioles left fielder Luis Robert Jr. runs in the third inning of a baseball game on Sept. 2, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski, File)<\/p>\n
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NEW DELHI (AP) \u2014 India\u2019s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country\u2019s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.<\/p>\n
Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth \u201cCockroach\u201d movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India\u2019s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.<\/p>\n
The protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling public square in New Delhi, after police last month withdrew Jantar Mantar from the list of officially designated venues for demonstrations. The historic observatory had long served as the capital\u2019s main protest site.<\/p>\n
Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.<\/p>\n
The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics say the exercise is politically motivated, threatens to disenfranchise millions more, and has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.<\/p>\n
The Election Commission and Modi\u2019s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise \u201cserious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe authorities should immediately scrap the voter roll revision process that has denied India\u2019s most marginalized people their right to vote and other government services,\u201d said Elaine Pearson, the group\u2019s Asia director, in a statement.<\/p>\n
The call for Kumar\u2019s resignation has for weeks been a rallying cry for opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party seeking to challenge Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.<\/p>\n
Modi has not publicly commented on the protests. Some of his party leaders have dismissed the demonstrators as \u201canarchists\u201d and suggested, without offering evidence, that they are backed by foreign powers.<\/p>\n
In July, protests led by the youth \u201ccockroach\u201d movement forced the resignation of Modi\u2019s education minister, a rare setback for Modi, who has been in power for more than 12 years. The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India\u2019s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.<\/p>\n
Protesters take a break during a rally called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A poster showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is carried during a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n India’s opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, center, in a vehicle with other opposition leaders, greets supporters during a protest called by his party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Prabhat Mehrotra)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A banner displaying a portrait of India’s election chief Gyanesh Kumar is visible during a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n India’s opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, standing at right in the first vehicle with other opposition leaders, waves at the supporters during a protest called by his party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vipin)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Security personnel keep watch as a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manish Swarup)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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