Dhruv Rathee Announces London Protest, Urges Indians to Join ‘Vote Theft’ Demonstration

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee has announced that he is in London and called on Indians to join a protest against alleged “vote theft” outside Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Parliament Square on Sunday. He said he aims to take the protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) to the international stage.

In a video posted on X on Saturday, Rathee said, “I’ve just reached London. It’s time the world sees the reality of vote chor and murderer of democracy.”

He added, “International danka bajane ka time aa gaya hai,” urging people to join the demonstration scheduled for 12 noon on Sunday.

The announcement comes amid criticism over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the handling of protests against the exercise. According to the report, more than 130 million names have been removed from voter lists across India, a development that has sparked controversy and protests.

On Friday, six US Democratic lawmakers urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise concerns with India over allegations of excessive use of force against student protesters, the detention of demonstrators and surveillance of protests linked to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Rathee’s announcement comes a week after he alleged that he was taken away by people in plain clothes ahead of a planned protest in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 10.

Speaking at a press conference on October 11, Rathee rejected the description of the incident as a detention, claiming, “I was not detained; I was kidnapped.”

Rathee said he had travelled to India to participate in the protest because he considered allegations of vote theft and irregularities in the Election Commission to be a major issue.

Amid social media claims questioning his nationality, Rathee also asserted his Indian citizenship by displaying his Indian passport in a video posted on X.