Gyanesh Kumar Row: Left Student Groups Protest in Delhi Over SIR and Electoral Rolls

Left-affiliated student and youth organisations, along with other civil society groups, staged protests in Delhi on Friday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over their concerns regarding the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The protest, held on Gandhi Jayanti, drew students, activists and political leaders. Several protesters were detained by police after authorities denied permission for the proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) across the New Delhi district, restricting public gatherings and demonstrations without prior written permission.

CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby told IANS that large numbers of activists from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) had travelled to Delhi from different parts of the country to participate in the protest.

Baby said the protesters wanted to register their demand for Kumar’s removal over what he described as violations of established procedures in the functioning of the Election Commission. He also said the INDIA bloc had planned further demonstrations, including a march by its MPs and others on October 6 and a rally on November 1.

Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim said Delhi Police had not granted permission for the Jantar Mantar demonstration, but argued that peaceful protest should remain possible. He said the protesters would continue raising their concerns over electoral processes and the Constitution.

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat also participated in the protest and linked the demonstration to Gandhi’s emphasis on equal political rights. She alleged that the ongoing SIR exercise had resulted in the deletion of nearly 13 crore names from draft electoral rolls and called for the exercise to be stopped.

The figure of more than 13 crore names removed from draft rolls has also been reported in recent coverage of the nationwide SIR exercise. The Election Commission has subsequently ordered a special drive to identify voters who were left out of the draft rolls, amid concerns over the large-scale omissions.

Karat further criticised the denial of permission for the protest and the detention of demonstrators.

The police restrictions came as authorities anticipated a large turnout. Additional Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces personnel were deployed around Jantar Mantar and other sensitive areas, while traffic and public transport restrictions were also put in place in parts of central Delhi.

The protest is part of a wider political and civil-society dispute over the SIR exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission. Opposition parties and other groups have raised concerns about the electoral-roll revision, while the Election Commission has maintained that the exercise is aimed at ensuring the accuracy of electoral rolls.

The demonstrations and planned follow-up protests are expected to keep the SIR process and the role of the Election Commission at the centre of political debate in the coming weeks.