Bengaluru, Oct 23 Several people took out a Tiranga March from Town Hall towards Freedom Park here on Friday to oppose the SIR of electoral rolls and demand that the exercise be scrapped.
The march, also called the Restore Democracy March, was backed by farmer unions, Dalit outfits and student organisations.
Participants carried the national flag.
A day before the march, the city police had issued notices to several people and organisations, including the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), citing a Karnataka High Court order restricting protests, rallies and sit-ins to Freedom Park, the designated protest venue in Bengaluru.
The notices also reminded the organisers that prior permission was required to hold demonstrations.
When participants gathered outside Town Hall with placards targeting the Centre, the SIR exercise and CEC Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, police personnel intervened, saying permission had been granted strictly for a Tiranga March and that protest placards and slogans were not allowed.
Despite appeals from police officers and organisers to adhere to the conditions of permission, some participants continued to display placards and raise slogans.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Akshay M later arrived at the spot and reiterated that, in accordance with the High Court’s directives, public protests and demonstrations in Bengaluru were restricted to Freedom Park.
He said those carrying protest material would not be allowed to join the procession. The organisers subsequently removed placards, while police seized protest materials from some participants who attempted to proceed with them.
Amid a police presence, the procession moved from Town Hall towards Freedom Park, with participants demanding that the electoral roll revision exercise be scrapped and Kumar be removed as Chief Election Commissioner.
(PTI News)
