INDIA bloc in K'taka stages protest against SIR seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

    Bengaluru, Nov 5 (PTI) Leaders of the INDIA bloc in Karnataka on Thursday staged a protest at Freedom Park here against the SIR of electoral rolls, demanding its withdrawal and the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

    The protest, held under the banner of "Save the Vote, Save the Country", was part of the INDIA bloc's nationwide agitation against the SIR exercise, which opposition parties have alleged could disenfranchise eligible voters and undermine democratic processes.

    The agitation in Bengaluru follows a protest organised by the INDIA bloc at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 1, Congress leaders said.

    Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, AICC secretary in-charge of Karnataka Gopinathan Palaniyappa, state Congress president B K Hariprasad, several ministers, legislators and party leaders attended the rally.

    Representatives of other INDIA bloc constituents, including CPI(M) state secretary K Prakash, CPI leader Saathi Sundaresh, Forward Bloc's Shivashankar and CPI(ML) leader Clifton D'Rozario, were also present.

    A resolution adopted at the rally alleged that the SIR exercise had resulted in the deletion of over 14 crore names from electoral rolls across the country, including a large number of eligible voters.

    In Karnataka, the resolution claimed that the electorate had declined from 5.54 crore before the revision to around 4.5 crore in the final electoral roll published on October 27. Of the 99.32 lakh names removed in the state, around 23 lakh were reportedly classified as deceased or duplicate voters, while approximately 76 lakh others were categorised as absent or shifted, it said.

    The resolution further claimed that Bengaluru had witnessed the deletion of nearly 45 lakh names from its electoral rolls, with the number of registered voters falling from around 1.04 crore to 59.08 lakh.

    Alleging procedural irregularities in the exercise, the INDIA bloc leaders said voters who had shifted residences were being asked to re-enrol through Form 6 instead of having their addresses updated through Form 8.

    The resolution also raised concerns over the use of what it termed 'logical discrepancies' to flag voters and alleged misuse of Form 7 applications, which are used to seek deletion of names from electoral rolls.

    It questioned the Election Commission's handling of such applications and alleged that the process could disproportionately affect minority communities. These allegations were part of the resolution adopted at the rally.

    The INDIA bloc also questioned the stated objective of identifying illegal immigrants through the SIR exercise, citing figures in the resolution which claimed that fewer than 1,000 foreign nationals had been identified in Karnataka.

    The leaders alleged that the exercise was being used to facilitate electoral manipulation rather than merely to identify ineligible voters.

    The resolution said the right to vote, guaranteed under Article 326 of the Constitution, was central to political equality and must be protected for all sections of society.

    The rally adopted five demands: Immediate withdrawal of the SIR exercise, resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, repeal of the law governing the appointment of the CEC to ensure an independent appointment process in accordance with Supreme Court directions, rejection by the Karnataka government of the final electoral rolls prepared through the SIR exercise, and conduct of forthcoming local body, taluk and zilla panchayat elections using the pre-SIR 2025 electoral rolls.

    The INDIA bloc also called for a statewide campaign to mobilise public support for its demands.

    CM Shivakumar said the state government would initiate a police investigation into alleged attempts to manipulate the electoral process and misuse Form 7 to delete names from voter lists.

    Speaking at the protest meet, he alleged that the BJP had indulged in vote theft and accused the Election Commission of acting at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre.

    "We are not fighting merely against the Election Commission but also against the conspiracy of the BJP operating behind it. We are committed to protecting the voting rights of ordinary citizens," he said.

    Claiming that CCTV footage was available to establish who had encouraged the alleged irregularities and supplied the applications, he said cases would be registered and action taken to ensure justice.

    Later speaking to reporters, the CM said the Congress would continue its opposition to the manner in which the SIR was being conducted.

    "Our stand is clear and firm. Our primary demand is that the names of voters deleted from the electoral rolls should be restored, except in cases involving deceased voters," he said.

    He said all eligible voters whose names had been removed from the electoral rolls must get justice. "The fight will continue until justice is delivered to voters who have suffered due to the SIR process," he added.

    Siddaramaiah demanded that the SIR of electoral rolls be withdrawn immediately, stating that the process is contrary to the spirit of the law and the Constitution. He also demanded the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.

    He said, any attempt to weaken the democratic system or deprive eligible citizens of their voting rights would be strongly opposed.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)