Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 5 (ANI): Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President BK Hariprasad said Thursday that the INDIA bloc’s protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls would continue until Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar resigns.
The Karnataka unit of the INDIA bloc is holding a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, demanding Kumar’s resignation and the scrapping of the SIR exercise.
“Today, the INDIA bloc is organizing a massive protest against Mr. Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR. This is in continuation of the November 1 Ramlila rally, where my leader Rahul Gandhi ji, All India Congress Committee President Mallikarjun Kharge ji, and all INDIA bloc leaders had gathered at Ramlila to seek the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and to scrap the SIR,” Hariprasad said.
He said INDIA bloc leaders and members had assembled at Freedom Park to continue the protest.
“In continuation of this, the INDIA bloc has assembled today at Freedom Park, and we are going to start our protest today. All our INDIA bloc members are here. And until Gyanesh Kumar resigns, this protest will continue,” he said.
Hariprasad further said the protest would be extended across Karnataka, with District Congress Committee presidents holding rallies at district headquarters on Thursday.
“Today, all my District Congress Committee presidents are also holding protest rallies at all the district headquarters. From tomorrow onward, it will reach the talukas and blocks. This will continue until Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” he added.
The protest, which began at 11 a.m. and is scheduled to continue until 2 p.m., is being organized by the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc and Samajwadi Party, along with other progressive parties, social organizations, and student and youth groups involved in the anti-SIR agitation.
The protest is being presided over by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and KPCC President BK Hariprasad.
Multilingual film actor Prakash Raj, CPI(M) state secretary Prakash K, CPI state secretary Sathi Sundaresh, CPI(ML) Liberation state secretary Clifton D’Rozario, Forward Bloc president JR Shivashankar and Samajwadi Party president N. Manjappa are also participating.
Representatives of various organizations, including Sarvodaya Karnataka, Eddelu Karnataka, the Federation of Dalit Organizations and the Republican Party of India, are also attending the protest.
Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed in adequate numbers at Freedom Park to maintain security and manage the gathering.
The protest comes as opposition parties continue to raise concerns about the SIR exercise and seek accountability from the Election Commission. (ANI)
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