INDIA bloc to protest against SIR in Kalaburagi on October 13

The members of the district Congress committee, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India under the aegis of the INDIA bloc will stage a protest in Kalaburagi on Tuesday, October 13, demanding the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and an investigation into the alleged misuse of Form 7 applications.

They claimed that as many as 1,054 applications of Form 7 had been submitted in Kalaburagi district alone and called for a comprehensive inquiry into their alleged misuse. Ms. Neela said that asking voters whose names were deleted to re-enrol through Form 6 would not adequately address the issue. She urged the authorities to withdraw measures that undermined constitutional principles and democratic rights.

Mr. Deshmukh accused the BJP-led Union government of suppressing dissent by detaining protesters, students and youth organisation leaders in New Delhi. While protests in Bengaluru had remained peaceful, restrictions on demonstrators in the national capital reflected the Centre's intolerance of dissent, he alleged.

Describing the situation as an "undeclared Emergency", Mr. Deshmukh also referred to disruptions to train services and internet connectivity in New Delhi, alleging that the developments pointed to an increasingly restrictive environment for democratic protest.

CPI district secretary Mahesh Kumar Rathod said the right to protest against injustice was fundamental to democracy. He alleged that restrictions on the movement of protesters and the threat of arrest in Delhi had created an atmosphere of fear. He called upon people to unite in defence of the Constitution and democratic values.

The INDIA bloc leaders appealed to their constituent parties, workers and democratic organisations to participate in the October 13 protest in Kalaburagi city.