Criticising the SIR process, actor and activist Prakash Raj on Saturday said the ‘visarjan’ (immersion) of Ganesha idols as part of Ganesh Chaturthi festivities is over and that the ‘visarjan’ of CEC Gyanesh Kumar remains.
Meanwhile, a protest was organised here on Saturday by Telangana People’s Front, Cockroach Janta Party and other organisations demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, scrapping SIR exercise and repeal CEC Act 2023. He also asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who conducts ‘Mann ki Baat’, had explained the SIR process in advance. “He (Prakash Raj) may be entitled to criticise the Election Commission, but comparing the CEC to an idol immersion crosses the line from political criticism to disrespect for a Constitutional institution.
Elections are not numbers but citizens of the country who are alive, he said. He said he took a 10-day tour of different districts to meet people and he was told that their names were “deleted” just because they were not at home when a Booth Level Officer (BLO) visited. “Our demand is that SIR has to be stalled and scrapped,” Raj said. Democracy demands debate, not derision,” Subhash said in a statement. If Raj has objections to the SIR process, he can place the facts and evidence before the appropriate forum instead of resorting to “provocative street rhetoric,” he said.
