Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has announced a “Chappal protest” in Bengaluru on Thursday, October 8, to express solidarity with women journalists who have alleged sexual harassment by a Delhi Police officer and to raise concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The protest will be held at Freedom Park following a People’s Tribunal on SIR, organised by civil society groups. Actor and activist Prakash Raj is expected to participate in the demonstration, along with CJP representatives and members of youth and civil society organisations.
Ashutosh Ranka, co-convener of CJP, announced the programme on Tuesday, calling on citizens to attend the event in large numbers. The organisers said the protest would highlight concerns about electoral roll revisions as well as the allegations made by women journalists.
The programme is scheduled to begin at 10.30 am with a People’s Tribunal, where residents from Karnataka who claim to have been wrongly removed from electoral rolls are expected to share their experiences.
The civil society groups organising the tribunal have called for the reversal of deletions made during the SIR exercise and the retention of electoral rolls that existed before the revision. They have also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in the electoral process.
The Election Commission has maintained that the revision exercise is intended to identify and remove duplicate, deceased and otherwise ineligible entries from electoral rolls. Allegations of deliberate manipulation have been disputed by the authorities.
Prakash Raj appeals for public participation
Prakash Raj has urged citizens to join the demonstration at Freedom Park. In a post on X, the actor called on people to participate in what he described as a fight to protect democracy.
“People’s Tribunal by Cockroaches,” Raj wrote, referring to CJP and its organisers. He said people affected by SIR from across Karnataka would be present at the event and appealed to citizens to join the gathering on October 8.
The Bengaluru protest comes amid a series of demonstrations by CJP and other groups against the electoral roll revision process. CJP has also announced a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10, demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
The organisers said Thursday’s programme would bring together citizens, activists and civil society representatives to raise concerns about electoral transparency, voting rights and the allegations made by women journalists.
