INDIA Bloc to hold protest against SIR, CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Bengaluru on November 5
Bengaluru: The INDIA Bloc parties in Karnataka will hold a massive protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on November 5 against the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and MLC, B.K. Hariprasad said on Tuesday.
Addressing a joint press conference of INDIA Bloc leaders at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, Hariprasad said the protest would be a continuation of the demonstration organised by the INDIA Bloc at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 1 against the alleged irregularities in the SIR process and Gyanesh Kumar.
He said INDIA Bloc leaders had decided in Delhi to organise protests across the country at the taluk and block levels. In Karnataka, the alliance leaders had decided to begin with a state-level protest in Bengaluru, followed by demonstrations at district and taluk levels.
Hariprasad alleged that the BJP and the RSS were attempting to undermine the democratic system by misusing constitutional institutions. He said the agitation would continue until Gyanesh Kumar resigned.
CPI(M) state secretary K. Prakash said the alliance was demanding the scrapping of the SIR process, the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and democratisation of the process of appointing the Chief Election Commissioner.
He said the appointment process should be conducted in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court and demanded the withdrawal of the law granting permanent immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Prakash said the INDIA Bloc had decided to intensify and decentralise the agitation across Karnataka after the November 5 protest. He said all alliance parties would participate in the demonstration, adding that the responsibility of protecting democracy rested with them.
He further said the INDIA Bloc intended to send a message that there was no place in the country for the BJP’s alleged attempts to turn India into an authoritarian state and establish a communal nation.
CPI(M) leader Sathi Sundaresh, Forward Bloc’s Mahantesh and Shivashankar, Ali, CPI(ML) leader Clifton D’Rozario and KPCC Media and Communications Department Chairman Ramesh Babu were present at the press conference.