Bengaluru People’s Tribunal Takes Up SIR Complaints, Protesters Raise Voter Deletion Concerns

A protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was held at Freedom Park here on Thursday, with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) organising a “people’s tribunal” for those who claimed to have been affected by the exercise.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, co-convener Ashutosh Ranka, actor-activist Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee participated in the programme. People from different parts of Karnataka were invited to share their experiences of alleged wrongful deletion or changes to their voter entries.

The organisers demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for the SIR exercise to be scrapped. Protesters displayed placards and raised slogans alleging irregularities in the electoral-roll revision. A “chappal protest” was also held in solidarity with women following the tribunal.

The programme came amid complaints concerning Form 7, the application used to seek deletion of a name from an electoral roll. Karnataka election authorities have said a Form 7 objection by itself does not result in deletion of a voter’s name.

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukumar has said Electoral Registration Officers must issue notice to the concerned voter and objector, hear their submissions and verify relevant documents before taking a decision on deletion. Authorities have also ordered scrutiny of complaints involving bulk or allegedly fraudulent Form 7 submissions.

In Bengaluru’s Malleswaram constituency, police have registered a case concerning 778 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters from a polling station. The complaint alleged that applications were submitted showing voters as having shifted or being otherwise ineligible. The authenticity and circumstances of the applications are under investigation.

The Election Commission’s SIR exercise is intended to update electoral rolls by identifying eligible voters and removing entries relating to deceased, duplicate, shifted or otherwise ineligible persons. The exercise has faced criticism from opposition parties and civil-society groups over alleged wrongful exclusions.

CJP has announced another demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 10. Police made security arrangements at Freedom Park for the protest.