Guwahati: The People Against SIR (PA-SIR) has called for a nationwide protests from November 26 to December 20, demanding the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of every citizen’s right to vote.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the platform’s Working Group in New Delhi on Thursday, following discussions on intensifying its campaign against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) SIR exercise.

In a statement issued after the meeting, PA-SIR said the ECI’s recent measures to address concerns over its conduct during the past 16 months were inadequate, as they did not address what the platform described as mass disenfranchisement and the undemocratic nature of the SIR process.

As part of the campaign, PA-SIR has called for nationwide demonstrations on November 26, Constitution Day, to assert the right to vote and the right to livelihood. The programme will begin with readings of the Preamble to the Constitution and involve organisations representing farmers, workers, agricultural labourers, Adivasis, Dalits, minorities, students, youth and women.

The platform has also called for demonstrations on December 10, Human Rights Day, to uphold the right to peaceful protest. It proposed turning streets across the country into spaces for public demonstrations and called for the re-notification of Jantar Mantar in New Delhi as a designated protest site.

Between November 26 and December 20, the campaign will include public meetings, rallies and audits of electoral rolls across states. PA-SIR said the audits would be used to challenge the accuracy of voter lists prepared through the SIR process and raise awareness about what it described as threats to citizens’ voting and protest rights.

The platform has also called for booth-level meetings on December 20, where resolutions will be adopted urging the President of India to scrap the SIR and restore every citizen’s right to vote before any further elections are announced.

PA-SIR further said it would raise concerns over alleged police high-handedness and restrictions on peaceful protests with elected representatives, governance institutions, the judiciary and political parties. It also objected to the alleged use of house arrest to prevent citizens from exercising their right to peaceful protest.

The platform reiterated its demands for the removal and prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an end to elections conducted using SIR-based electoral rolls, restoration of voting rights and the use of paper ballots.

It also called for comprehensive electoral reforms, including proportional representation, measures to curb the influence of money and muscle power, and legalisation of state funding of elections.

PA-SIR urged democratic organisations and citizens to join the campaign and intensify the movement to press for its demands.