Prakash Raj Launches 10-Day SIR Resistance Tour in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Actor and social activist Prakash Raj has begun a 10-day tour protesting the deletion of eligible voters' names from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He launched the SIR Resistance Tour from Ramanagar in Kalaburagi, a major settlement of nomadic communities in the district.

Prakash Raj began the protest by paying floral tributes to a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution. The tour will cover all 28 districts of Karnataka, with information being collected from people during the campaign.

He launched the tour after interacting with residents of Ramanagar about the SIR process. Several people have been removed from the electoral rolls under categories such as absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and others. Prakash Raj said 5,21,950 voters in Kalaburagi district had been excluded. He questioned how all of them would be able to establish their eligibility within the stipulated time. He said available information showed that only around 25,000 people had responded by submitting Form 6.

“After removing voters from the electoral rolls, asking them to submit Form 6 meant for new applicants is illegal. Why should those who have voted previously apply again as new voters? My name has also been removed from the list. But I do not want my voting right restored alone while the voting rights of lakhs of people are at stake,” Prakash Raj said.

He pointed out that prominent people whose names have been removed may sometimes be able to produce the required documents on time, but the situation is different for the rest. The SIR process has created major difficulties for people living in slums and other marginalised communities, he said. He added that they have limited ability to produce documents and respond to official notices within the stipulated period.

Prakash Raj alleged that the authorities were threatening to remove names in large numbers if documents were not submitted within the prescribed deadline. He demanded that those who had already exercised their voting rights but submitted Form 6 should not be treated as new applicants.

He also alleged that while officials visit the residences of senior politicians and retired judges to correct errors in electoral rolls, the Election Commission was turning away from others.

The tour will conclude with a round-table conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Prakash Raj said the information and documents collected during the tour would be submitted to the Karnataka Chief Minister on the same day, along with a demand to withdraw the SIR process. He will also hold a press conference in Delhi on October 1.

Social activists K Neela, Meenakshi Bali and K L Ashok are also leading the protest.