Bengaluru Freedom Park SIR Rally on 5 November: INDIA Bloc Demands CEC’s Exit

Parties of the INDIA bloc in Karnataka will hold a protest rally at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on 5 November against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and will demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president BK Hariprasad announced the rally at a joint press conference at the KPCC office on Tuesday 3 November, according to UNI.

A Rally Aimed at Voters Left Off the Rolls

The bloc’s demands, as set out when the Karnataka parties first planned the protest, are to scrap the SIR, restore the names of eligible voters removed from the rolls and seek Kumar’s exit. “The SIR process must be scrapped completely,” Hariprasad said at that earlier meeting, as reported by The Hans India. The campaign slogan is “Save the Vote, Save the Country.” These are the opposition’s demands; the Election Commission has not conceded any of them.

From Ramlila Maidan to Bengaluru

The Bengaluru rally follows the INDIA bloc’s 1 November demonstration at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, where Karnataka representatives also took part. IPB News has covered the bloc’s earlier charges against the CEC in its report on the INDIA bloc mock Parliament. Leaders of the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, the Samajwadi Party, CPI(ML) Liberation and Forward Bloc attended the Karnataka planning meeting, The Hans India reported. That meeting also set up a coordination committee to take the protests down to district and taluk level.

Also read INDIA Bloc Chalo Dilli March Starts From Minto Road to Ramlila Maidan

Next Steps After 5 November

The rally is part of the bloc’s nationwide campaign against the SIR and the way the Election Commission works, UNI reported. No turnout estimate or list of speakers has been announced. Related developments on the voter-roll exercise are in IPB’s report on post-SIR electors in five states. More daily reports are in Daily Updates.

Source: Based on reporting by UNI and The Hans India.

Image: The News Minute.