INDIA Bloc Plans November 5 Bengaluru Protest Against SIR

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Bengaluru: INDIA bloc parties in Karnataka have decided to hold a major protest in Bengaluru on November 5 against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and establish a state coordination committee to extend their campaign to districts and taluks.

The decisions were taken at a state-level meeting at Legislators’ Home in Bengaluru on Friday, chaired by KPCC president B.K. Hariprasad, according to a statement on the meeting. Representatives discussed the revision exercise, allegations that eligible voters had been excluded from electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission.

The Bengaluru protest will follow the alliance’s planned mobilisation at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 1. The meeting resolved to ensure substantial participation from Karnataka, with representatives of the state’s alliance partners joining the Delhi protest before taking the campaign forward in Bengaluru and elsewhere in Karnataka.

The proposed state coordination committee will include representatives of the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, Samajwadi Party and Forward Bloc, among other alliance partners. It will prepare the programme for coordinated action across the state under the slogan “Save the Vote, Save the Country”.

Hariprasad said protecting the right to vote was fundamental to democracy and that the exclusion of genuine and eligible voters from electoral rolls could not be accepted.

He alleged that about 13 crore voters had been removed from electoral rolls across the country and demanded the restoration of eligible voters’ names. He said the alliance’s position was that the SIR exercise should be scrapped entirely and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should resign.

Hariprasad accused the Union government of pursuing anti-democratic and fascist policies. He also alleged that the Election Commission, which should function as an independent constitutional institution, was acting in favour of a political party.

He urged democratic forces to put aside political differences and unite against any attempt to deprive citizens of their voting rights.

The November 5 Bengaluru protest will press the alliance’s demands for cancellation of the SIR exercise and Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. The formation of the Karnataka coordination committee and participation in the November 1 Delhi protest were the other principal resolutions adopted at the meeting.

Hariprasad said peaceful protest was a democratic right and argued that restrictions could not silence people’s voices. The campaign to protect the Constitution and voting rights would continue, he said, describing it as a struggle concerning democracy and citizens’ constitutional rights rather than merely an agitation by political parties.

Leaders of the participating parties discussed the impact of the SIR exercise, alleged shortcomings in electoral rolls and the strategy for the proposed protests.

They stressed the need to involve farmers, workers, women, students, young people and progressive organisations in the campaign, with the aim of building a broader public movement around the protection of voting rights.

Those present included AICC secretary Gopinath Palaniappan, CPI(M) state secretary K. Prakash, CPI state secretary Sathi Sundaresh and Samajwadi Party state president Manjappa Yadav, along with leaders and representatives of CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc and other INDIA bloc partners.