Bathinda: On a call by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), farmers staged protests at district and tehsil headquarters on Friday, demanding scrapping of the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists and the removal and prosecution of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Protesters submitted memoranda to the President through district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates.“Over 13 crore names have been deleted from voter lists. The vote is everyone’s fundamental right, and we will not let it be taken away,” the SKM said.The demands included restoring the names of eligible voters wrongly deleted after a transparent public review and amending the 2023 law on appointing election commissioners to include the Chief Justice of India, instead of a minister chosen by the Prime Minister, on the selection panel.The union also demanded that the Delhi Police withdraw its Oct 11 order that removed Jantar Mantar as a protest site, and called for wider electoral reforms, including state funding of elections and curbs on money and muscle power.It condemned the police action against students and youth protesting on the SIR issue in New Delhi, including reported sexual harassment of women students and journalists. Demanding a fair probe, they said farmers would stand with the students and youth.
