Actor-activist Prakash Raj, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke led a protest at Freedom Park here on Thursday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his immediate resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A large number of protesters, including women and students, gathered at the venue, raising slogans against the SIR exercise and demanding that it be scrapped. The protesters also called for Kumar to step down.
The protest was organised as a "people's tribunal" for people allegedly affected by the SIR exercise across Karnataka. Organisers said it would be followed by a "Chappal protest" in solidarity with women.
Posters at the venue carried slogans including "Error 404 - Name Not Found", "It's done bro, resign sir" and "Don't erase us, hear us". Others read "Dictatorship will not be tolerated", "Vote theft" and "Gyanesh Kumar, gaddi leave your chair".
Posters featuring freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose were also displayed, along with one carrying the slogan "Grand Theft Democracy".
Demanding that the SIR be scrapped, Raj said the exercise was not merely about deletion of names from electoral rolls but an attack on citizens' dignity and voting rights.
"Who are they to take away our votes? This is serious wrongdoing," Raj said, raising slogans of "Vote chor, gaddi chor".
Raj said the agitation was not limited to seeking Kumar's resignation but was aimed at getting the entire SIR exercise withdrawn.
"Our fight is not merely for the resignation of Kumar. Even if he goes, another person, Agyanesh Kumar, may come in his place. That's not what we want. We want the SIR to be scrapped totally," he said.
He alleged that names of tribal people, the poor, Muslims and other minorities had been removed from electoral rolls and accused Kumar of acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Raj also urged protesters to remain peaceful, saying the movement should continue until the SIR exercise was completely withdrawn and people's "dignity and rights" restored.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke accused Modi and the Election Commission of "murdering democracy and vote theft", alleging that voter deletions under the SIR were aimed at disenfranchising people opposed to the BJP.
"We will hit the streets, reclaim democracy and continue agitation till the CEC resigns," Dipke said.
Rathee alleged that there was "zero transparency and zero accountability from the EC" over the SIR exercise.
"I have not come here for regime change," he said, addressing the protesters.
Police said tight security arrangements had been put in place at the venue to prevent any untoward incident.
(With inputs from PTI)
