Chennai Police detained more than 100 protesters near Elliott's Beach on Saturday, as part of a nationwide demonstration calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The demonstrators, many holding placards, shouted slogans about the alleged deletion of 13 crore voters from the electoral rolls, a move the Election Commission has denied and which has sparked outrage across the country. Radhika Ganesh, an activist among the detainees, told NDTV that "More than 13 crore people have been unconstitutionally deleted from electoral rolls. Their rights have to be protected."
Police officials said the protest was organized without prior permission, echoing a Delhi police action that had shut down a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar by the Cockroach Janata Party earlier this week. "They had not obtained permission. We cannot let that happen," a senior Chennai police officer told reporters.
Tamil Nadu DMK chief M K Stalin slammed the police action, demanding the immediate release of all detainees and accusing the central government of repressing dissent. He said the crackdown recalled memories of the Emergency era and called for constitutional protection of voters' rights.
The detained protesters were taken to the city police station for questioning. The state government has not yet set a timetable for their release, and activists fear further arrests could occur as the protest movement gains momentum. A protester’s mother, sitting in the queue, said she feared her son would be taken away without any notice.