A petition filed by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and others seeks an independent audit of India's extensive voter deletions. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the petition on Thursday, October 15. The petition, named 'Rahul Gandhi and others versus Election Commission of India and others,' was filed following a protest march to the Supreme Court, where Gandhi rallied thousands, including members of the opposition INDIA bloc, student leaders, activists, and civil society, through a heavily barricaded area of the capital.
The protest was part of ongoing demonstrations calling for India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, amid allegations of voter roll manipulation to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission has rejected these allegations, stating that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise aims to remove deceased, relocated, and duplicate voters, as well as prevent the inclusion of foreign illegal immigrants. Modi's party has characterized the protests as attempts to create unrest.
Gandhi's petition requests an interim suspension of the nationwide revision of voter rolls, along with an audit of voter deletions and safeguards against deletions without prior notice.
In other news, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is visiting the United Arab Emirates, where he met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Jaishankar described the meeting as 'warm and productive' and noted discussions on bilateral and global issues. His three-day visit began on Wednesday, and he is participating in the Raisina Middle East forum in Abu Dhabi.
Additionally, three Indians have died in an apartment fire in Bochum, Germany, with authorities investigating suspected arson and arresting a building resident on suspicion of murder.