Hyderabad protesters form human chain against electoral roll revisions

More than 2,000 protesters gathered at Tank Bund in Hyderabad on Saturday, October 24, to form a human chain protesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demonstration, organized by the collective People Against the SIR, included civil society groups representing students, farmers, women, and Dalit communities.

The protesters demanded the immediate rollback of the SIR, the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, and the repeal of the CEC Act of 2023. Participants alleged that the revision process is a mass voter deletion exercise rather than a verification drive, claiming that 13.4 crore voters have been removed from electoral rolls across India.

Key figures present included economist Parakala Prabhakar and political activist Yogendra Yadav. The demonstrators called for the restoration of deleted eligible voters and demanded greater independence and accountability for the Election Commission of India.