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The INDIA bloc's Karnataka unit is holding a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest, which started at 11 AM and will go on until 2 PM, is being organised by the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc and Samajwadi Party, along with other progressive parties, social organisations and student and youth organisations involved in the anti-SIR agitation. The protest is being presided over by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President BK Hariprasad. Multilingual film actor Prakash Raj, CPI(M) State Secretary Prakash K, CPI State Secretary Sathi Sundaresh, CPI(ML) Liberation State Secretary Clifton D'Rozario, Forward Bloc President JR Shivashankar and Samajwadi Party President N Manjappa are also participating. Representatives of various organisations, including Sarvodaya Karnataka, Eddelu Karnataka, the Federation of Dalit Organisations and the Republican Party of India are also attending the protest. Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed in adequate numbers at Freedom Park to maintain security and manage the gathering. The protest comes as opposition parties continue to raise concerns over the SIR exercise and seek accountability from the Election Commission. Hariprasad said on Wednesday the protest would be held in continuation of the November 1 demonstration. "In continuation of the protest we had on November 1, the entire INDIA bloc alliance is organising a massive protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru. All our CPI(M), Forward Bloc, Samajwadi Party... and Muslim League leaders have agreed to participate in this," Hariprasad said. Hariprasad added that the protest movement would be extended to almost all districts across Karnataka at the block level. "This protest will continue in Karnataka in almost all districts at the block level. Tomorrow, we have requested all our district units to simultaneously hold protests against SIR and Gyanesh Kumar and demand his resignation," he said. The Congress leader said the party had requested its district units to organise simultaneous demonstrations, indicating that the protest against SIR would be taken up across the state. (ANI)
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