Indian authorities heighten security, close park ahead of 'cockroach' movement rally

Indian authorities closed a central New Delhi park Friday as the country's "cockroach" movement called for a rally in ​the capital's central ‌business district, its latest in a series of protests demanding the ⁠resignation of India's election chief. The youth-led "Cockroach Janta Party", opposition groups and student organisations have held almost daily protests this month demanding chief ‌election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over a revision of voter lists that critics say favours ⁠Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. More than 130 million names have been removed from electoral lists under the revision exercise. Critics say the removals have disproportionately affected ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Muslims. Members of Modi's Hindu nationalist party have long alleged that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered India's electoral rolls. Election authorities say the move was intended to eliminate duplicate, deceased and fraudulent entries, and that wrongly deleted voters can re-enroll. The BJP has accused rivals of trying ‌to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate...