Bengaluru: Siddaramaiah demanded on Thursday that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be withdrawn immediately and that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign, saying the process is contrary to the spirit of the law and the Constitution.
Addressing a large protest organised by the KPCC at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on November 5 against the SIR, he said the nationwide movement rests on two demands: scrapping the SIR and the CEC’s resignation. A large protest was held in Delhi on November 1, and the Congress and INDIA alliance parties are continuing the movement in Karnataka. “This is not merely about revision of electoral rolls. It is a larger struggle to protect the Constitution, democracy and the voting rights of citizens,” he said.
Siddaramaiah questioned how Gyanesh Kumar was appointed. He said the Union government changed the composition of the selection committee for Election Commissioners, which earlier had the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India; a later law replaced the Chief Justice with a Union Minister, which, he alleged, increased the Centre’s influence. He said Rahul Gandhi had objected during the appointment but it went ahead.
On the rolls, he said Karnataka had around 5.54 crore voters before the SIR and around 4.55 crore after revision, a reduction of nearly one crore, which he said needs serious scrutiny. He demanded that reasons for the deletions be disclosed and steps be taken so that no eligible citizen is denied the vote. He recalled that Rahul Gandhi had alleged during the last Lok Sabha election that about one lakh votes were irregularly added in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency, and that allegations had also been raised over deletions in Rajajinagar.
Citing an investigative report in an English-language newspaper, he said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded written objections on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months to decisions taken under Gyanesh Kumar, including on new voter registration, addition and deletion of names, and management of voter data. He said such objections from within an independent constitutional body needed clear answers.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP, which he said won only 240 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, was now trying to use the electoral process for political advantage, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were attempting to undermine the Election Commission’s autonomy. “The Election Commission must function independently without coming under the influence of any political party,” he said.
He said the campaign will be expanded to district and taluk centres across Karnataka, and described the movement as a “second freedom struggle”. He expressed confidence that the BJP would lose power in the 2029 Lok Sabha election and called on people to remain vigilant to safeguard the Constitution and democracy.
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