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Meta removes Indian comic's satire video as election protest intensify

Stand-up artist Brijesh Jha says video questioning voter roll clean-up taken down under 'local laws'

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Meta has removed a parody video by Mumbai-based stand-up comic Brijesh Jha that criticised India's top election official over the removal of more than 130 million voters from electoral rolls, a process that has sparked nationwide protests and accusations of political manipulation.

The video, posted on Instagram on September 29, alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had disenfranchised millions of voters at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It garnered 1.7 million views before being taken down two days later by Meta, which cited 'local laws' without further explanation.

'I felt very helpless that day. I have only one thing in this country – that I can vote. If you take that away from me, then I have nothing left,' Jha told Al Jazeera. He said the video was removed because the Modi government is 'scared' after revelations that two of the election commission's three members had raised serious concerns over a controversial voter roll revision known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Launched in June last year, the SIR exercise aims to identify deceased, duplicate or dubious voters. So far, more than 130 million names – nearly 14 percent of India's total electorate – have been deleted, with an overwhelming number of those removed being Muslims who do not usually vote for the BJP, according to the report.

An investigation by the Indian Express newspaper revealed that Kumar's fellow election commissioners had formally objected at least 14 times to key decisions linked to the SIR. Opposition parties have accused Kumar, a Modi appointee, of acting at the BJP's behest and called for an independent inquiry.

The controversy has triggered street protests across India demanding Kumar's resignation. On Tuesday, police in New Delhi briefly detained main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi as he tried to march to the election commission office. 'The country has been hijacked by Narendra Modi through vote theft,' Gandhi told reporters. 'What has been done to our country is called treason.'

The BJP has responded by accusing opposition parties of 'making a concerted effort to change the government' through deliberate attacks on democratic institutions.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The removal of the video highlights the tension between platform content moderation and political protest in the world's largest democracy.
  • The voter roll clean-up – especially the disproportionate removal of Muslim names – raises fundamental questions about electoral integrity.
  • The outcome could further polarise Indian politics ahead of future elections and test the independence of the Election Commission.

Background

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was initiated in June 2025 to clean voter rolls by removing deceased, duplicate or dubious entries. The Election Commission is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a bureaucrat appointed under the Modi government. Internal objections from two other commissioners have cast doubt on the neutrality of the process. The opposition Congress party and other groups allege the exercise targets Muslim voters to benefit the BJP, while the government defends it as routine maintenance.

Key Perspectives

Artists and activists: Stand-up comic Brijesh Jha and others argue that satire is their only tool when voting rights are at stake, and that censorship by global platforms silences dissent. Opposition parties: Led by Rahul Gandhi's Congress, they accuse the BJP and the election commission of systematically disenfranchising non-BJP voters, calling the actions 'treason' and demanding an independent probe. The ruling BJP: The party dismisses the allegations as a coordinated attack by opposition forces to destabilise the government and insists the SIR exercise is a standard administrative procedure. Meta: The company has not elaborated beyond citing 'local laws', reflecting its compliance with Indian government requests under foreign law.

What to Watch

  • Whether Meta reinstates the video or issues a more detailed explanation for its removal.
  • Further street protests and possible detentions of opposition leaders, especially with elections in several states on the horizon.
  • The Election Commission's next steps: will it release the dissenting commissioners' objections or address concerns over the SIR methodology?
  • How international observers and human rights groups respond to the voter roll deletions.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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