New Delhi: A march against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls headed towards the headquarters of the Election Commission of India in central Delhi Friday, with protesters raising slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged deletion of voters.
The participants, including students, youth and farmers, joined the march called by the Delhi Coordination Committee of People Against SIR a people’s collective carrying the tricolour and banners of the group.
Amid slogans such as “Gyanesh Kumar, resign”, “Halt SIR” and “Won’t tolerate vote theft”, the protesters were joined by senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, and members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), among others.
The march began near the Gole Dak Khana, at the intersection of Kalibari Marg and Bhai Vir Singh Marg, and proceeded towards the ECI headquarters.
The Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) had extended their support to the protest, with activists from Delhi, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh joining the demonstration.
Security has been tightened in central Delhi, with Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed in large numbers.
When police stopped the protesters, they sat down and held a ‘People’s Parliament’, as announced by the organisers.
“This is not about reclaiming Jantar Mantar; this is about saving democracy and the country,” a protester said.
Another protester said that since Jantar Mantar had been denotified as a protest site, every street in the country would become a Jantar Mantar, pointing to several organisations announcing demonstrations across India.
The People Against SIR has also launched a website providing information about protests being held in different cities. According to the collective, demonstrations have been planned in 88 cities across 18 states, involving 145 organisations.
The collective has listed protests scheduled for Friday and announced programmes extending up to November 1 as part of its campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The organisers have appealed to farmers, workers, youth, women and people from different sections of society to participate in the demonstrations carrying the national flag.
The Delhi march would remain peaceful and conclude with the adoption of resolutions and the national anthem, they said.
The SFI had also called for solidarity protests in central Delhi and district headquarters on Friday.
Traffic diversions were enforced in parts of central Delhi from 1 pm in view of the march, which would remain in place till 5 pm, with congestion likely around the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Connaught Place, Parliament Street and Jantar Mantar.
The Delhi Traffic Police has advised commuters to avoid unnecessary travel in the affected stretches, plan their journeys and follow the instructions issued by the traffic personnel.
The protest follows concerns raised by the opposition parties and various organisations over the SIR exercise and the alleged deletion of voters from the electoral rolls.
PTI
