Prakash Raj Accuses CEC Gyanesh Kumar of Acting at Modi-Shah’s Behest at Bengaluru Protest

Bengaluru. Actor-activist Prakash Raj has accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while demanding that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be scrapped. Raj made the allegations while addressing a protest at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park against the ongoing voter-roll revision exercise.

The protest, organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), saw the participation of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, student leader Aishe Ghosh and several other protesters. Participants raised slogans against Gyanesh Kumar and demanded his resignation, with slogans including “Gyanesh Kumar, it’s done bro” and “Error 404 - Name Not Found.”

The gathering was organised as a “People’s Tribunal”, where people from different parts of Karnataka who said they had been affected by the SIR process were expected to share their concerns over alleged wrongful deletions from electoral rolls. Protest organisers said the exercise was aimed at bringing such complaints before the public and questioning the transparency of the voter-list revision process.

Prakash Raj appealed to citizens to join the protest and described it as part of a wider effort to protect democratic rights. Dhruv Rathee also participated in the demonstration and said he was not there for regime change, while expressing concerns about transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

Following the tribunal, organisers announced a symbolic “Chappal Protest” in solidarity with women. CJP leaders said the demonstrations would continue to highlight complaints related to the SIR exercise and demand accountability from the Election Commission. The allegations against the CEC and the claims of wrongful voter deletions remain contested, with the Election Commission and BJP rejecting allegations of manipulation or collusion.