LONDON: A section of diaspora groups in the UK organised an “Emergency Protest” outside the High Commission of India in London in solidarity with the protests in New Delhi.
Convened by the South Asia Solidarity Group, Cambridge South Asian Forum Against Hindutva, Indian Workers' Association and SOAS Ambedkar Society, among other groups, the protest on Tuesday evening attracted a large student gathering, with participants expressing solidarity with the “Jantar Mantar 2.0 protests” and the struggle in India to defend the right to vote and the right to protest.
The gathering was called to “amplify” the demands of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), including the demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in India.
“This is not just about one corrupt official, it is a mass uprising,” said Mukti Shah of the South Asia Solidarity Group. “For us in Britain, it is especially important because this regime is a key player in the global far-right, which is increasingly active in this country.”
Student group leaders addressed the gathering, calling on members to organise in solidarity with the protesters in India.
Protesters held placards targeting the CEC and condemning what they described as “police brutality and sexual violence against protesters, journalists and lawyers”.
The protest was part of a wider show of solidarity, with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) UK also organising gatherings in Cardiff, Leeds and Edinburgh during the week.
Protests have intensified in New Delhi, with the CJP, student groups and opposition parties demanding electoral reforms and the resignation of CEC Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls across the country under the SIR exercise, which began last year.
The Election Commission maintains that the exercise is intended to update electoral rolls by identifying deceased, duplicate, shifted and otherwise ineligible entries.