People Against SIR to hold nationwide marches on Oct 23

The People Against SIR platform has called for nationwide marches on October 23 to protest the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The mobilisation, described by the organisers as the “People’s March to Reclaim Democracy”, is expected to bring together civil society groups, farmers’ organisations, students’ unions, workers and minority organisations. The platform has invited Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora to participate in the Delhi march.

The organisers have said they will not seek police permission for the marches, calling on people to carry the national flag and hold demonstrations across district and tehsil headquarters, state capitals and the national capital. Their slogan is “Har gali Jantar Mantar”, signalling their opposition to the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site in Delhi.

The Delhi march is scheduled to begin at Bangla Sahib Gurdwara in Connaught Place and proceed towards the Election Commission’s office near Patel Chowk. If the police block the route, the organisers have said they will hold a “People’s Parliament” gathering and disperse after singing the national anthem. Delhi Police had not issued an immediate response to the proposed march at the time of publication.

The platform has demanded that the SIR exercise be scrapped, eligible voters whose names were deleted be restored to the electoral rolls, and the voter lists be reset to their pre-2024 versions. It has also called for Kumar’s removal and prosecution and sought changes to the legal protections available to election commissioners.

The Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party have rejected allegations concerning the SIR process.