YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, actor-activist Prakash Raj and Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke joined a protest in Bengaluru on Thursday, October 8, demanding the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.The protest was held at Freedom Park and saw the participation of women, students and other citizens. Organised as a “People’s Tribunal”, the gathering aimed to hear complaints from people who claimed that their names had been wrongly removed from voter lists during the SIR exercise.
Protesters Raise Concerns Over Voter Rights
The protesters demanded that the Election Commission withdraw the SIR exercise, alleging that the process could affect eligible voters’ right to vote. They carried posters with slogans such as “Error 404 – Name Not Found”, “Don’t erase us, hear us” and “Gyanesh Kumar, resign”.Addressing the gathering, Prakash Raj said the issue was not limited to removing names from electoral rolls but also concerned citizens’ dignity and voting rights. He alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner was acting under the influence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. These were allegations made by the actor during the protest.
‘Chappal Protest’ Announced
The organisers also announced a symbolic “Chappal Protest” in solidarity with women as part of their campaign against the SIR exercise.The protest comes amid growing political and public debate over electoral roll revision and allegations of wrongful voter deletions. The demonstrators called for the process to be scrapped and demanded greater transparency in maintaining voter lists.
