'Gyanesh Kumar gaddi chhodo': Prakash Raj, Dhruv Rathee join CJP's mega protest against SIR in Bengaluru
PTC Web Desk: Slogans of 'SIR radd karo' and 'Gyanesh Kumar gaddi chhodo' echoed across Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday, as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began a large protest against the Chief Election Commissioner. Actor-activist Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee stood with CJP's Abhijeet Dipke on the stage. The group is holding a "people's tribunal" on alleged irregularities in the revision of voter lists. A "chappal protest" will follow.
Crowd gathers from morning
People started arriving at Freedom Park early on Thursday. Activists and members of several civil society groups filled the venue as the day went on. Around 1 pm, CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka reached the stage. They raised their hands together with Rathee and Prakash Raj, and the crowd responded with chants of "vote chor, vote chor."
'The government is choosing its voters'
Prakash Raj, best known to many as the actor from Singham, said the Election Commission of India had insulted the whole country through the SIR exercise. He put it in simple words: earlier, people chose the government, but now, with SIR, the government is choosing who gets to vote.
The protesters want the SIR scrapped. According to the report, the exercise has led to the exclusion of over 13 crore people across 20 states and Union Territories. Raj said the protest is about bringing back the rights of citizens.
'Not about one man'
Raj also made it clear that the protest is not aimed at CEC Gyanesh Kumar alone. If he goes, he said, someone else will take his place. The real goal, according to him, is to end the SIR itself.
Pressure on the CEC grows
The CJP and the Opposition have been demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over the SIR. The demand has become louder after an Indian Express investigation reported that concerns about deleting and restoring names in the voter lists were being raised inside the Election Commission too.
The report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times in the last ten months to various decisions the poll panel took on the SIR.
The people's tribunal is now underway, and the chappal protest is expected to follow later in the day.
Also Read | Gyanesh Kumar and SIR controversy explained: 5 key persons, 14 objections and what happened inside ECI
- PTC NEWS
