Public movement needed against SIR: Shivasundar
Bengaluru: Columnist and activist Shivasundar has called for the formation of a public movement against the Special Intensive Revision of the Electoral Roll (SIR) being carried out by the Election Commission of India in 12 states. Karnataka is also expected to begin the SIR process by February next year, he warned.
Speaking as the chief guest at a special discussion on SIR organised by the Muslim Muttahida Mahaz at the BIFT auditorium in Darussalam building, Queens Road, Bengaluru, on Saturday, Shivasundar said that preparations must begin immediately to resist what he termed a potentially harmful exercise.
He stated that the coming three months are crucial for ground-level mobilisation: adding names to the voter list, ensuring documents are in order, creating public awareness against SIR, and being ready for protests if required.
Referring to Bihar, he said that when SIR was implemented there, Aadhaar was initially not accepted as a valid identity document, which would have resulted in nearly two crore people losing their voting rights. It was only due to street protests that the Supreme Court intervened and directed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar, he added.
As a result, among 65 lakh voters whose names were removed, 35 lakh were able to vote again because Aadhaar was recognised. “This is the strength of public struggle — it influences the judiciary,” Shivasundar asserted.
He pointed to previous mass movements, including nationwide protests against CAA, NRC and NPR, the farmers’ movement, and demonstrations across Karnataka after the Mangaluru police firing, saying that several states later passed resolutions due to public pressure.
Shivasundar stressed that voter records must be corrected at the booth level. He alleged that in Madhya Pradesh, RSS workers are assisting Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in deciding whose names are included or deleted from the electoral rolls. “Here, even if we ask Congress workers to help, they say there is no cadre,” he remarked.
He urged that in addition to the 11 documents listed by the Election Commission, available IDs such as Aadhaar, bank passbooks, NREGA cards and ration cards should also be accepted.
The programme was attended by advocate Vinay Sreenivasa, Muslim Muttahida Mahaz convener Masood Abdul Khader, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind state president Dr Muhammad Saad Belagami, secretary Maulana Yusuf Kanni, Maulana Ejaz Ahmed Nadvi, Maulana Zulfikar Noori and others.
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Ahead of good Friday, SWR announces special train between Yesvantpur-Kannur via Mangaluru
Bengaluru: Ahead of the upcoming Good Friday festival weekend, the South Western Railway has announced a one-trip special train service between Yesvantpur Junction and Kannur via Mangaluru Junction.
According to an official released from the SWR, Train Number 06551 Yesvantpur–Kannur Express Special will depart Yesvantpur at 11.50 am on April 2 and is scheduled to arrive Kannur at 3.00 am on April 3.
In the return direction, Train Number 06552 Kannur–Yesvantpur Express Special will leave Kannur at 8.45 am on April 3 and reach Yesvantpur at 9.30 pm the same day.
The special train will halt at Kunigal, Channarayapatna, Hassan, Sakleshpura, Subrahmanya Road, Kabaka Puttur, Bantawala, Mangaluru Junction, Kasaragod, Kanhangad and Payyannur.
The train composition will have two AC two-tier coaches, six AC three-tier coaches, seven sleeper class coaches, four general second class coaches.
