A large number of protesters, including farmers, trade union members, students and Left party activists, staged a march in the national capital on Friday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The march, organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Delhi coordination committee of People Against SIR, began near Gole Dak Khana and was stopped by police near Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, a short distance from the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters on Ashoka Road.
Police erected barricades to prevent the protesters from proceeding towards the ECI office and detained several participants during the demonstration.
Carrying national flags and banners, the protesters raised slogans against Kumar and demanded an immediate halt to the electoral roll revision exercise. They alleged that the SIR process had resulted in the deletion of names of eligible voters, raising concerns over their voting rights.
Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, members of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) and activists from the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) and the Students' Federation of India (SFI) participated in the march. Activists from Delhi, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh also joined the protest.
"We demand that SIR should be rolled back, Gyanesh Kumar should resign, the voter list should be rectified, and the government should apologise," Yudhvir Singh, national general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, said.
Karat said the agitation would continue until the SIR exercise was scrapped, alleging that the revision threatened citizens' constitutional right to vote.
CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar also warned that the protest movement would be intensified in the coming days and reiterated the demand for the chief election commissioner's resignation.
"This is not about reclaiming Jantar Mantar; this is about saving democracy and the country," a protester said, referring to the restrictions on demonstrations at the designated protest site.
The demonstration was part of a wider campaign against the electoral roll revision exercise. According to People Against SIR, protests have been planned in 88 cities across 18 states, with 145 organisations participating in programmes scheduled from Friday until November 1.
The organisers said more than 300 organisations had joined the campaign, demanding the scrapping of the SIR exercise, restoration of voting rights to eligible citizens whose names were deleted, and action against Kumar.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have raised concerns that the revision could exclude eligible voters from electoral rolls. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that the exercise is intended to ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls.
Earlier this month, INDIA bloc leaders had marched towards the ECI headquarters and the Supreme Court and met President Droupadi Murmu to raise their concerns over the revision process.