Activists Detained in Bengaluru During Protest Against SIR Voter Roll Exercise

BENGALURU — Police detained several activists and members of civil society organisations on Tuesday as they marched from Freedom Park toward the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, protesting against the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SIR) exercise.

The demonstration was organised by Eddelu Karnataka at Freedom Park, drawing participation from noted actors Kishore and Prakash Raj, as well as members of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS), and various other organisations. The protesters gathered to demand the complete withdrawal of the SIR exercise.

Tara Rao, a representative of Eddelu Karnataka, stated that the demonstrators decided to walk toward the Chief Electoral Officer's office after officials failed to visit Freedom Park to answer their questions. Police intervened and detained the marchers along the route.

Activist KL Ashok outlined four key demands from the protesting groups, urging election authorities to address widespread concerns regarding voter deletions. He stated that the SIR exercise must be scrapped immediately to prevent disenfranchisement across the state.

According to Ashok, election officials must make all necessary provisions to ensure that 1.07 crore people categorised under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, and Others list are restored to the electoral rolls. The protesters also called for the resolution and clearance of issues affecting 43 lakh individuals currently listed under the logical discrepancy category.

Ashok highlighted that citizens frequently shifting residences face the greatest risk of being excluded from the voter list, emphasising that the Election Commission must take steps to ensure they are not summarily removed from the rolls.