Delhi Police began detaining protesters on Friday as a march against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls moved towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters.
Delhi Police detain protesters during a march against SIR, with demonstrators raising slogans over alleged voter deletions
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Organised by People Against SIR, a coalition of students, farmers and civil society groups, the march began near Gole Dak Khana in central Delhi.
Participants demanded Kumar’s resignation and the scrapping of the SIR exercise, alleging that voter deletions had undermined electoral rights.
Police and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in large numbers, while traffic restrictions were announced around Connaught Place, Parliament Street and nearby areas.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat and activist Yogendra Yadav joined the march. The platform, formed on October 14, has demanded restoration of pre-2024 voter lists and social audits of electoral rolls.
The protests come amid wider criticism of the SIR process.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of internal disagreement over major decisions, maintaining that key decisions were taken unanimously.
Separately, the Punjab Assembly moved a resolution seeking an independent inquiry into Kumar and voter-registration decisions.
In Tamil Nadu, ruling TVK and its allies walked out of an all-party meeting, demanding the CEC’s resignation over alleged errors in the SIR exercise.
The Union Home Ministry has also extended the deployment of 273 Central Armed Police Forces companies in Delhi until October 31 amid concerns over possible flash protests.
