08 October,2026 07:48 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
(From left) Sandhya Gokhale, Dolphy D’Souza, Adv Gayatri Singh, Ulka Mahajan, and Harwinder Singh during the press conference at Mumbai Press Club. Pics/Ashish Raje
It was "go Gyanesh go," as United Against Injustice and Discrimination (UAID), supported by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), and The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), held a press conference on October 7, at the Mumbai Press Club to demand the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and urged measures to protect the right to vote.
The conference, titled 'Scrap SIR: Gyanesh Kumar Must Go - Defend the Right to Vote,' brought together speakers from across the spectrum, from professionals to religious leaders. The UAID added that the conference was held to defend the democratic principle that governments are elected by voters,
and voters must not be effectively selected through an opaque or exclusionary electoral process.
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The panel of speakers took up the mic, with Sandhya Gokhale first up, pointing to the arduous journey of those battling for scrapping the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and pushing for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The activist said, "We have a very long battle ahead, and we need to be prepared."
Dolphy D'Souza of the Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS) brought in the Gen Z factor. He said, "I want to thank Gen Z for coming out to protest, though this time, it is not just Gen Z, but everybody who is calling out the wrongs. Let's say, a fire has been lit in hearts everywhere."
While it is not just Gen Z, the student flavour of the past few months - the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other organisations are refusing to let the âGyanesh, you need to go, bro' tempo down. A demonstration is planned at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 10.
Speaker Advocate Gayatri Singh claimed, "Universal Adult Franchise is our right, which is being stolen." Not just Gyanesh Kumar, she added, but the other two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, need to resign too.
Activist Ulka Mahajan said earlier there was an accent on ensuring not even one voter slipped away. "Today, there is a deliberate design to disenfranchise people," she said. Maulana Mehmood Daryabadi said when "one asked EC a question, the BJP answered, proving both are the same." Harvinder Singh said, "The SIR is being used as a distraction from the many problems we are facing."
