Kanchipuram: Tension gripped the area near the old railway station as members of the Jananayaka Meetpu Kuzhu organized a rail roko protest to demand the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Law enforcement authorities ultimately detained the demonstrators and relocated them to a private marriage hall.
Demonstrators alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner acted in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by disqualifying 13 crore voters. In anticipation of the demonstration, authorities deployed heavy contingents of police and Railway Protection Force personnel near the site.
More than 350 individuals marched in a procession from a location near Hotel Tamil Nadu toward the East Railway Station. A scuffle ensued between the crowd and law enforcement officers when security forces attempted to halt their advance.
Despite police barricades, over 50 demonstrators breached the security lines and sat on the railway tracks, chanting slogans against the Prime Minister and the Election Commission while reiterating their call for the CEC's arrest.
The agitation involved members from various groups, including Makkal Mandram, the Communist Party of India, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and independent social activists. The protest disrupted the area and created tense conditions for approximately an hour before police successfully cleared the tracks and detained the participants.
Earlier on October 17, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Parliamentary Party passed a resolution during a meeting led by party president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin, demanding the immediate removal of the CEC and an inquiry into his conduct regarding the voter revision exercise. The ruling regional party resolved to have its members petition the President of India for electoral reforms, including the complete scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision and a return to paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines.