Hyderabad: Sitting on the edge of Lower Tank Bund stretch, holding the national flag, 63-year-old Suvamoy Sen had brought along more than just a symbol. “I brought the flag my father used in the Independence movement, when he fought against the British,” he said. Sen was among the 250-300 citizens, civil society members and students who gathered near the Makhdoom Mohiuddin statue on Saturday evening to form a human chain, protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.Organised by the newly formed People Against SIR alliance, the protest was titled ‘Demanding rollback of SIR and resignation of CEC.’ Groups including AIPM, RSV and NAPM, along with student organisations such as SFI and AISA, took part. The lanes along Lower Tank Bund were packed with people, many of them elders attending a protest for the first time.A Hyderabad resident since 2002, Sen said his family’s own experience had prompted him to join the protest. “My daughter-in-law’s name was dropped from the rolls in Hyderabad, and she received a notice. When we approached the BLO, we were told that the system would allow officials to log in only from Delhi, not Hyderabad, and that she should submit Form 6,” he said. Others described similar ordeals.Jyothi Sundeep Mirmire (53), a resident of Himayathnagar who has voted regularly, found her name missing from the draft roll. “I have recently been told that my name has been included in the list, but I am awaiting final roll. I spend nearly half a day at the BLO office getting my details from my hometown, Mysore, verified,” she said. Social worker Zeenat Begum from Old City said the exercise was disrupting people’s livelihoods. “I have lost many working days due to running around BLO’s office because of the SIR process,” said Zeenat’s friend Nasreen Kausar, a tailor from Yakutpura.Throughout the protest, participants raised several slogans, including “Gyanesh Kumar resign,” as they held hands to form a human chain along the lane. People Against SIR alliance is an all-India platform and civil society coalition recently formed to oppose the SIR. It comprises farmers’ organisations, trade and workers’ unions, student groups, women’s organisations and groups representing Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, persons with disabilities and transgender people.Meanwhile, Iran Nayak of KNF Foundation, which works with the transgender community, said that more than 20,000 persons with disabilities in Telangana had received notices, according to data seen with BLOs. Addressing the gathering, economist Parakala Prabhakar said, “Every person who questions and dissents is a challenge to this autocratic govt.” He demanded that the SIR be scrapped, all eligible voters be restored to the rolls, and that the ECI be reconstituted through a transparent selection process.He also called for the revocation of the 2023 law granting immunity to election commissioners and the appointment of three new commissioners. “This agitation is not against an individual but against institutional capture. We will continue until our demands are met and electoral democracy is restored,” Parakala added.
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