Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar Demands Arrest And Dismissal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar Amid SIR Row

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday demanded the immediate arrest and dismissal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the ongoing political controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and called for re-verification.

"The Chief Election Officer should be arrested and dismissed immediately. There should be a re-verification," Shivakumar said.

His remarks came as the Karnataka Congress staged a protest against the Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Saturday, amid the continuing SIR row.

Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao also demanded the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, questioning the credibility of the Election Commission and calling for steps to protect democratic institutions and electoral rights.

"How can we allow an Election Commission to become like this, to be headed by such a person whom nobody's got any faith in today? So, that is why this is to save our country's institutions and save our country's democratic rights," Rao said.

He said Gyanesh Kumar should either be removed or voluntarily resign from his post. Rao also criticised the Supreme Court's handling of issues concerning the Election Commission and said judges needed to introspect and take appropriate decisions.

Former Karnataka Minister HK Patil said the protest had received a significant response from people and alleged violations of democratic norms.

"We want CEC to quit immediately. If he has any respect for the rule of law, if he has any respect for democracy, he must quit immediately," Patil said.

The protests come amid a political controversy over the SIR exercise following an investigative Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period concerning decisions and procedures related to electoral rolls and database access.

Congress workers have staged demonstrations in several states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, over the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the SIR exercise.

Meanwhile, on the proposed Nandini milk price hike, Shivakumar said the matter would be discussed in the Cabinet.

"They are asking to increase the milk price by Rs 10. Prices have increased in other states. I am getting information about the prices there. Farmers here are very angry about the price. I will discuss this in the Cabinet," he said.