Karnataka CM Shivakumar, Congress Legislators To Join Delhi Protest Against SIR

The protest will centre on a demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision exercise, with Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and ruling Congress legislators set to join the action in New Delhi on October 12, 2026.

The protest is being organised by the All India Congress Committee, while the Congress’s Karnataka unit has said it will pursue its own course of action against the SIR exercise.

Congress to hold separate protest

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Mr Shivakumar said the Congress would hold its own protest and demand the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation.

He was asked whether the Congress was supporting a protest by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP.

Mr Shivakumar said the Congress was taking its own course of action, while some INDIA bloc allies had participated in the other protest.

“We are holding our protest tomorrow,” he said.

He added that the party did not want to travel to Delhi in large numbers, but that its legislators would be present.

“I had said that we did not want to go to Delhi in large numbers, but our legislators will be there. I am also going to Delhi to protect every voter,” he said.

The stated focus of the protest is the protection of voters and opposition to the deletion of names from electoral rolls.

“You cannot delete voters from electoral rolls. How can you delete the names of voters in Karnataka? This is not democracy,” Mr Shivakumar said.

He said the Congress had to protect the right to vote of Dalits, minorities and backward-class people.

Karnataka’s earlier action over voter rolls

Mr Shivakumar has frequently participated in Congress protests in Delhi held under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi against the NDA government and the Chief Election Commissioner.

The latest planned protest follows action taken in Bengaluru on October 1, 2026.

On that date, the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues staged a dharna on the premises of the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.

They demanded the registration of a criminal case and an investigation into an alleged conspiracy to delete the names of eligible voters through Form 7 applications.

The earlier demand and the planned Delhi protest are linked by the Congress’s objections to alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and its opposition to the SIR exercise.

Shivakumar criticises Delhi internet shutdown

Mr Shivakumar also criticised the Centre over the shutdown of internet services in Delhi during a protest on October 10.

He asked whether the country was witnessing democracy or an emergency and said the Prime Minister should explain the situation.

“Everyone has the right to protest. Detaining people on flights and elected representatives is an insult to the nation and democracy,” he said.

Mr Shivakumar said India was known across the world for its democratic traditions.

He added that such incidents would damage the country’s reputation.

He also said the Centre should allow protesters to meet the Chief Election Commissioner, while stressing that criticism was part of public life.

Response to former civil servants’ letter

Mr Shivakumar was also asked about an open letter signed by 124 former IAS, IFS and other civil service officers.

The officers defended the Election Commission and the SIR exercise and argued that allegations of vote-rigging should be supported by credible evidence.

“The officers have done their duty. Congratulations to them,” Mr Shivakumar said.

“But our protest represents the voice of the country, not the voice of any political party,” he added.

The Congress’s position, as stated by Mr Shivakumar, is that the protest concerns the protection of voters and the right to vote, rather than the voice of one political party.

Source: The Hindu