While Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was marching in the Congress-led INDIA bloc's protest in New Delhi demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, the police of his state were in action against people protesting over the same issue. Facing the irony of the situation, Shivakumar and other Congress leaders of Karnataka have promised a probe into the alleged high-handedness of the police.
On Monday, police in Bengaluru detained at least 100 protesters attempting to march to the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Students, lawyers and women protesters were allegedly manhandled by Bengaluru City Police, while journalists and photographers covering the demonstration also faced police action.
The contrast was stark. Even as CM DKS was marching against the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi, police in his home state were detaining demonstrators seeking to protest against the same poll body's SIR of electoral rolls.
Facing mounting criticism, Shivakumar said on Tuesday that any unnecessary use of force would invite accountability. Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge, meanwhile, said he had instructed the police to ensure peaceful demonstrations were not disrupted.
For context, left-wing student and youth organisations, as well as the activist group My Vote, My Right had organised protests across Karnataka on Monday, planning marches to the CEO's office in Bengaluru and to Deputy Commissioners' offices in other districts. The demonstrators demanded Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and the scrapping of the SIR exercise.
In Bengaluru, protesters assembled near KR Circle, a few metres from the CEO's office, intending to submit a memorandum. However, police detained them before they could march to the office. Senior journalist and activist Aakar Patel was among those detained.
Several protesters, most of them students, were allegedly pushed into buses by police personnel, many of whom were in plain clothes. According to The Times of India newspaper report, police personnel said that the demonstrators would return to the spot if they were released.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Central Division, Bengaluru City Police Akshay M Hakay, while addressing a press conference on Monday, said that protesters had assembled without permission and were asked to move to Freedom Park, but did not comply, following which they were taken into preventive custody and released. He said police acted with restraint, adding that the friction between journalists and police personnel was "completely unintentional" and occurred under "straining circumstances".
JOURNALISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS ALLEGEDLY MANHANDLED BY KARNATAKA POLICE
The police action on Monday extended to members of the media covering the protest. According to The Hindu, journalists were threatened and asked to leave the spot, while three photographers were allegedly manhandled despite repeatedly identifying themselves as members of the Press.
Ironically, the Congress on the national level had condemned the BJP-led Centre for deploying high security and detaining protesters and journalists. On Monday, the same actions appeared in the Congress-ruled state.
In their memorandum to the Karnataka CEO, the protesters said they had lost faith in the SIR process, alleging that it could result in the denial of voting rights, arbitrary deletion of names, procedural irregularities and a lack of transparency and accountability.
They also questioned the handling of cases in which FIRs had been registered over the bulk filing of Form 7 applications, asking why Electoral Registration Officers had not filed complaints.
The protesting groups demanded the immediate cancellation of the SIR exercise, Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, restoration of the January 2025 electoral rolls and safeguards against arbitrary deletions in future revisions. They said they would continue protesting until the CEC resigned.
CM DK SHIVAKUMAR SEEKS REPORT, HOME MINISTER KHARGE ISSUES INSTRUCTIONS
Responding to the incident, CM DKS said on Monday that he had taken note of the police action against protesters and members of the media and announced he had sought a full report on the circumstances that led to it.
"If there has been any unnecessary use of force or excess, accountability will follow," he said.
On Tuesday, the CM stressed that the right to peaceful protest could not be applied selectively based on where a demonstration was held or whom it targeted.
"The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy. We cannot demand that right for ourselves in Delhi and deny it to others in Bengaluru. Karnataka must hold itself to the democratic standards that we expect from the rest of the country. There will be no double standards," DKS posted on X.
"Let me be clear: disagreement with the Election Commission, disagreement with my government, or disagreement with me personally does not diminish anyone's right to peacefully express it," the Karnataka CM added.
The State's Home Minister, Priyank Kharge also said he had instructed the police to ensure peaceful demonstrations were not disrupted.
"The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy. It must be respected, protected, and never suppressed. I have issued instructions to the police to ensure that no peaceful demonstration is disrupted," Kharge wrote on X on Tuesday.
"Our responsibility is not merely to maintain law and order, but to create an environment where every citizen can express dissent freely, peacefully, and without fear. In a democracy, peaceful dissent is not a threat to law and order. It is a right that law and order must protect," he added.
The contrast, however, remains stark. While the CM protested against the ECI in New Delhi, police in his own state were detaining demonstrators protesting against the SIR process.
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(Written by Avinash Kateel)