Prakash Raj steps up campaign against SIR, demands CEC’s resignation
Raj said those opposing the SIR exercise had initially sought an extension of the deadline. Their position had now changed, he said, with the demand being for the process to be withdrawn altogether
Actor and social activist Prakash Raj is actively campaigning against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, calling for its immediate cancellation and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours. His 'SIR Parishodha mattu SIR Prathirodha (SIR Investigation and Resistance) Yatra' in Karnataka aims to raise awareness about the potential negative impact of the revision on young and newly eligible voters, whom he alleges are being deliberately excluded.
Actor and social activist Prakash Raj is actively campaigning against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, calling for its immediate cancellation and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours. His 'SIR Parishodha mattu SIR Prathirodha (SIR Investigation and Resistance) Yatra' in Karnataka aims to raise awareness about the potential negative impact of the revision on young and newly eligible voters, whom he alleges are being deliberately excluded.
Actor and social activist Prakash Raj is actively campaigning against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, calling for its immediate cancellation and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours. His 'SIR Parishodha mattu SIR Prathirodha (SIR Investigation and Resistance) Yatra' in Karnataka aims to raise awareness about the potential negative impact of the revision on young and newly eligible voters, whom he alleges are being deliberately excluded.
Actor and social activist Prakash Raj has stepped up his campaign against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), calling for the exercise to be scrapped and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours.
Raj made the remarks during his ongoing ‘SIR Parishodha mattu SIR Prathirodha (SIR Investigation and Resistance) Yatra’, which reached Hospet on Thursday. The campaign has taken him to different parts of Karnataka as he seeks to raise concerns over the electoral roll revision, particularly its possible impact on young and newly eligible voters.
Addressing a meeting at the Akkamahadevi Auditorium in Hospet, Raj said those opposing the SIR exercise had initially sought an extension of the deadline. Their position had now changed, he said, with the demand being for the process to be withdrawn altogether. “We had earlier demanded an extension of the SIR deadline. Now we are demanding that the SIR process itself be scrapped,” Raj said.
His campaign has increasingly brought him into confrontation with the EC over the implementation of SIR. Raj has questioned the implications of the exercise for voters and has particularly highlighted the difficulties faced by young people who are seeking to register for the first time.
“The government ruling this country is afraid of the younger generation. Therefore, through various means, the voting rights of newly registered young voters are being denied,” he alleged.
As part of the campaign, Raj has also been involved in efforts to build a wider protest against SIR and the functioning of the electoral system. He referred to a press conference organised by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) in connection with plans to launch a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
Raj said the protesters had given Kumar 48 hours to resign as Chief Election Commissioner. If the demand was not met, the Gen Z protest movement would be revived, he said.
The actor’s tour comes amid a wider debate over the SIR exercise, with supporters maintaining that electoral rolls require regular verification and updating, while critics have raised concerns about the possibility of eligible voters being left out during the revision process. The Hospet meeting was attended by labour activists, journalists and citizens.