Civil society groups protest at Bengaluru's Freedom Park against SIR, demand 6 months for voters to submit papers

Civil society groups on Saturday staged a protest at Freedom Park in the city against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. 

The protestors expressed concerns and demanded a ban on the system of data classification set up by the Election Commission of India (ECI), fearing that genuine voters would be left out over issues such as spelling mistakes and dates. 

The protest was also staged in other districts, including Vijaypura, Kolar, Mandya and Mysuru. Namma Vote, Namma Hakku, Eddelu Karnataka, Karnataka Janashakthi and other organisations participated in the protest. 

Protestors recalled the recent deletion of over 90 lakh voters in West Bengal and demanded that such an incident not be repeated in Karnataka. They demanded that the voters’ list be made public after the draft is ready in a computer-readable format, allowing people to look up voter details. After the draft list is prepared, gram sabhas must be compulsorily convened to conduct a public review before finalising the list. 

Currently, the SIR gives about a month’s time to submit applications and produce necessary documents to be added to the list.

The protestors said a minimum timeframe of six months must be provided to submit applications and furnish the necessary documents. 

The protestors also urged the state government to take effective steps to protect voters’ interests by issuing smart cards, convening special grama and ward sabhas for open verification, and providing assistance to secure documents for people lacking them. 

The protestors warned of a massive protest on June 20, when SIR training is scheduled to begin, if the ECI does not respond positively to their demands.