India news: Delhi protesters turn up heat on election chief, police tightens security

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The Election Commission of India has directed 20 of India's states and union territories to conduct a "special drive" to enroll voters who were "left out" during the controversial revision of electoral rolls. The ECI posted the order, dated October 1, on X on Friday.

"Voter enrollment is a continuous process and any person not yet enrolled in the electoral roll or whose name has got deleted can apply for enrollment at any point of time. The objective of the special drive is to identify and facilitate such electors," the order said.

This comes amid increasing scrutiny of the controversial revision of polling lists and protests in central Delhi over the scale of voters deleted from electoral rolls.

Protesters began arriving near the heavily barricaded grounds of Jantar Mantar in central Delhi early on Friday morning. DW reporters on the ground witnessed police detaining people, seemingly at random.

Around 11:15 a.m. local time (0545 GMT), a large rally led by the Students' Federation of India (SFI) reached the site. The SFI is a leftist students' body, which, along with others, has been demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's ouster.

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