Over 2,000 Form Human Chain at Tank Bund Demanding Scrap of SIR, Sacking of CEC
The human chain was co-organised by a wide range of civil society, human rights, farmers, dalit, youth and student organisations.
Hyderabad:More than 2,000 people participated in a human chain at Tank Bund on Saturday, to demand the immediate scrapping of the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and repeal of CEC Act, 2023 which gave the election commissioners lifetime immunity, towards reclaiming the democratic voting rights.
The protesters demanded that all deleted voter names must immediately be restored. The human chain was co-organised by a wide range of civil society, human rights, farmers, dalit, youth and student organisations.
Tank Bund resonated with slogans as the protesters, waving the Tiranga, called for an end to mass disenfranchisement and upholding people's constitutional right to vote. Participants said CEC Gyanesh Kumar has been conducting himself like an ‘agent of the BJP government’ and that his role has even been exposed by the two other election commissioners whose 14 formal objections were disregarded in the past year. They said 13.4 crore voters had been knocked off the electoral rolls across India and the SIR was not a voter verification drive but a mass voter deletion exercise.
Participants included activists like Prof. Haragopal, Prof. Shanta Sinha, MLC Prof. Kodandram, Vasantha Lakshmi, Telangana Education Commission former chief Akunuri Murali, Prof Padmaja Shaw, Kalpana Kannabiran, Rubina Nafees, Ravi Kanneganti, Sowmya Kidambi, Sajaya Kakarla, Jhansi, Sandhya, Sister Lissy, Kiran Vissa, Maria Tabassum, P Shankar, Suneetha A, Mary Dias, Venkat Reddy, Khalida Parveen and many student leaders others.
The protest was coordinated by a range of organisations including the TVRF, TPF, NAPM, RSV, AIPM, APCR, WTJAC, BJA, ALIFA, TDWU, HRF, TPJAC, MPJ, and student outfits BARC, AISF, SFI, AISA, AIDSO, ASA, PDSU, NSUI, MSF, ANSA-MANUU, and AIOBCSA.
