Student organisations in Bengaluru protested against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls at Freedom Park on Saturday, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and opposing what they described as an attempt to undermine democratic participation, according to a report by Prajavani – Bengaluru.
The protest was organised by the All India Students’ Association, All India Democratic Students’ Organisation, Karnataka Vidyarthi Sanghatane, All India Students’ Federation, Students’ Federation of India and other left student groups. The demonstration was held in support of an ongoing protest in Delhi against the voter list revision exercise.
After the demonstration, protesters attempted to march towards the office of the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer. Police took the protesters into custody before they could proceed, and later released them, the report said. The report did not provide details of the number of people detained or specify whether any cases were registered.
Sarovar Benkikere, state president of the Karnataka Vidyarthi Sanghatane, said the detention of student leaders represented a sign that the youth movement had made an impact. He argued that democracy extended beyond voting in elections and included people’s participation in social and political processes, questioning government actions and raising their voice against injustice.
Benkikere also said that protesting, questioning government policies and organising around public demands were democratic rights. He warned that attempts to suppress such movements through police action would not stop people from raising questions. His comments were made at the Freedom Park protest, as reported by Prajavani – Bengaluru.
B.J. Subhash, state treasurer of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation, also addressed the gathering. He warned that the government and the system would be held accountable for what he described as their actions against the public. The report did not include a response from the Election Commission, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s office or the police to the allegations made by the protesters.
Social activist Shiv Sundar said the movement should not end only with a demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation or the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision. He alleged that the Union government was using the Constitution to impose its ideology and said that both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were repressive. These were statements made at the protest and were not independently established in the report.
SFI state vice-president Basavaraj, AISF state president Veena Nayak, AIDSO state president K.S. Ashwini, Durgesh, Ganga and hundreds of other students were reported to have taken part in the demonstration. The immediate next step described in the report was the protesters’ attempted march to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s office, followed by their detention and release by police.
