‘Scrap SIR, Gyanesh Kumar must resign’: Protesters take to Hyderabad streets, seek accountability over voter deletions

Protesters in Hyderabad took to the streets on Saturday, October 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The rally began at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram and extended over a 2-kilometer route, drawing attention to concerns surrounding voter deletions.

Participants sang songs and raised slogans questioning the effectiveness of SIR, which is designed to update electoral rolls but has allegedly led to eligible voters being excluded. Ankit, an IT employee, pressed for data on how many voter names had been deleted and how many Indian citizens had been removed from the rolls. Former chairperson of the Telangana Education Commission, Akunuri Murali, echoed the protesters' concerns about the impact of large-scale voter deletions on democracy.

Loraine, a student, called for transparency and accountability from those in power. The rally concluded at Ashok Nagar, with organizers pledging to continue protests across Hyderabad.