A coalition of students, farmers and civil society organisations is set to hold a march in Delhi on Friday, October 23, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protest, organised by the newly formed alliance People Against SIR, is part of a wider campaign against the voter-list revision exercise.
Several prominent activists, public figures and political commentators have been invited to participate in the march, including actor-activist Prakash Raj, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, economist Parakala Prabhakar, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait and author Tushar Gandhi. Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and student leaders Neha Bora and Aishe Ghosh are also expected to participate.
Parakala Prabhakar, the husband of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has emerged as a prominent critic of the SIR exercise. He is expected to share the stage with the other participants at the protest, which aims to demand the restoration of democracy and greater accountability in the electoral process.
Parakala Prabhakar calls SIR a 'bloodless political genocide of citizenship'
Criticising the SIR exercise, Prabhakar has described it as a "bloodless political genocide of citizenship", alleging that the deletion of names from electoral rolls could deprive eligible citizens of their voting rights.
He has argued that the exercise could create two categories of people in the country: those who retain their voting rights and those who lose them despite remaining citizens. According to Prabhakar, the right to vote is a fundamental aspect of citizenship, and the removal of eligible voters from electoral rolls could have serious democratic consequences.
Prabhakar has also called for people whose names have been deleted from voter lists to organise and demand the restoration of their voting rights. His participation in the protest is drawing attention because of his outspoken criticism of the government's policies despite his wife, Nirmala Sitharaman, being a senior Union minister.
What are the protesters demanding?
The People Against SIR alliance, formed on October 14, brings together organisations representing students, farmers, workers, women, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and other sections of society.
The alliance has demanded that the SIR exercise be scrapped and that the names of eligible voters removed from electoral rolls be restored. It has also called for the removal and prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and urged political parties, including those in the INDIA bloc, to participate in the campaign.
The organisers have announced that the march will begin near Bangla Sahib Gurdwara in Connaught Place and proceed towards the Election Commission's office near Patel Chowk. If the police block the route, participants have said they will hold a "People's Parliament" before dispersing after singing the national anthem.
'Har gali Jantar Mantar': Call for nationwide mobilisation
The protest is being organised under the slogan, "Har haath mein tiranga, har gali mein Jantar Mantar", calling for a tricolour in every hand and a Jantar Mantar in every street.
The alliance has urged citizens across the country to organise demonstrations and public meetings in their neighbourhoods, towns and villages, extending the campaign beyond Delhi.
The planned march comes amid continuing disagreements over the SIR exercise, with critics raising concerns about voter deletions and transparency, while the Election Commission maintains that the exercise is intended to revise electoral rolls.
With Prabhakar, Prakash Raj, Prashant Bhushan and other public figures expected to join the demonstration, the march is likely to bring renewed attention to the debate over electoral-roll revisions and the protection of eligible voters' rights.
