NEW DELHI: An alliance of civil society groups, student unions, farmers’ organisations and minority groups in India has called for nationwide protests on Friday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and manipulation of the electoral process through a controversial revision of voter lists.
The alliance, operating under the banner “People Against SIR”, announced the protest march for October 23, demanding Kumar’s removal and prosecution, the restoration of deleted voter names and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The organisers have also called for the repeal of the Election Commissioners Act 2023, which they say grants legal immunity to election commissioners, the appointment of a new election commission through a fair process and a return to paper ballots.
The decision to hold the nationwide protest was taken at a joint meeting on October 14, the organisers said. They have urged the opposition INDIA bloc to support the October 23 mobilisation and help ensure widespread participation.
The alliance says that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah selected Kumar for the post of chief election commissioner to serve their own interests.
Dispute over Voter Lists
The protests centre on the SIR exercise, a nationwide review of electoral rolls that began in 2025. The Election Commission says the revision is intended to remove duplicate, deceased, relocated and otherwise ineligible voters.
Critics allege that the exercise has disproportionately affected poor and homeless people and minority communities, including Muslims, potentially disadvantaging voters less likely to support Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Around 130 million names have been removed from voter lists, raising concerns about the disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
The controversy has intensified following reports about the revision in West Bengal earlier this year. Critics have pointed to the removal of voters before the BJP won an election in the state, which it had not previously governed, and to constituencies where the number of deleted voters exceeded the party’s margin of victory.
The Indian Express also reported that Election Commission members had raised 14 objections to voter exclusions during the revision, all of which were overruled by Kumar.
UN Experts Seek Investigation
The planned protests come amid international concern over the handling of demonstrations against the voter-roll revision.
Two dozen independent United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday called on Indian authorities to stop using excessive force against protesters and sought an independent investigation into the crackdown.
The experts said demonstrators had sustained injuries and that some had reported ill-treatment. They also raised concerns about the use of force against unarmed students, restrictions on assemblies, digital surveillance and internet disruptions.
“Despite the non-violent nature of the assemblies, law enforcement agencies have reportedly deployed force against unarmed students, including lathi charges, and have prevented thousands from joining the protests,” the experts said in a statement, referring to the use of batons to disperse crowds.
They called on authorities to cease the use of excessive force, lift blanket restrictions on assemblies and refrain from the misuse of digital surveillance, including biometrics, and internet disruptions.
More than 7,000 people, including journalists and lawyers, have been detained in Delhi amid reports of baton charges against peaceful assemblies and internet disruptions.
