Protesters at LB Stadium on Wednesday called for Chief Election Commissioner
Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation during a ‘Rally for Democracy’ organised by the
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Telangana. The march proceeded towards Gun Park,
with participants from student, youth and civil society organisations, along
with independent citizens, raising slogans against the Union government and
demanding the right to protest.
Dr B. Prabhakara, a professor with a torn ACL awaiting surgery, said he had
joined the march despite his injury after being unable to travel to Delhi
for protests. He cited the case of an orphaned girl under his care whose
name had been removed from the electoral roll despite appearing on an
earlier list. Officials had asked for her birth certificate and ancestral
records, he said. “She is uneducated and intellectually disabled. How can
she produce all those documents?”
Pragati, a working professional who recently moved from Delhi to Hyderabad,
said she had joined independently. A former Delhi University student, she
had participated in protests at Jantar Mantar in July. “I feel very strongly
about democracy and the need for dissent, and about exercising our voice
through democracy, not just during elections,” she said.
Protesters also demanded that Jantar Mantar remain accessible as a public
protest venue. Pragati questioned the arrests of demonstrators for alleged
trespass and alleged excessive police force against protesters in Delhi,
particularly women. Recalling being subjected to water cannons during
protests at Delhi University, she said, “I have not seen police brutality to
this extent ever.”
CJP volunteers Rajesh Korapaka, Rangasai Reddy and Stanley Korani said they
were detained at Bhopal Junction on October 8 while travelling to Delhi for
an October 10 protest. They alleged that police took them off the Telangana
Express, confiscated their phones and belongings, and later escorted them
back to Warangal. “We were kept in detention for almost 40 hours and were
not produced before a magistrate,” Rangasai alleged.
Chetan, CJP’s Andhra Pradesh coordinator, alleged that the Special Intensive
Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was intended to facilitate delimitation
and alter electoral representation. “They want to change the constitution of
this country and we cannot let that happen.”
The volunteers also alleged that intelligence officials continued to call
them after their return, asking about their whereabouts, activities, income
and bank details.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
