Nirmala Sitharaman’s Husband Parakala Prabhakar Set to Join Anti-SIR Protest on October 23

Economist and political commentator Parakala Prabhakar, husband of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will join an anti-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) protest on October 23, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Election Commission of India’s electoral roll revision exercise.

The protest, titled the People’s March to Restore Democracy, has been called by the People Against SIR alliance, formed on October 14. It will bring together activists, lawyers, public figures and representatives of farmers’ and students’ organisations.

Those expected to participate include actor-activist Prakash Raj, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, All India Students’ Union president Neha Bora, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, author Tushar Gandhi and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh.

The alliance has demanded that the SIR exercise be scrapped and the names of eligible voters deleted from electoral rolls be restored. It has also urged parties in the INDIA bloc to participate in the march.

Earlier Prabhakar Criticises SIR Process

Prabhakar has described the SIR exercise as a “bloodless political genocide of citizenship”, alleging that the deletion of names from electoral rolls is depriving eligible citizens of their voting rights.

He has warned that the process could create two categories of citizens — those who retain their right to vote and those who lose it despite remaining citizens. Prabhakar has also called for an association of voters whose names have been deleted to campaign for the restoration of their voting rights, arguing that the changes could have wider social and economic consequences.

‘Har Haath Mein Tiranga’: Alliance Calls for Nationwide Protest

The People Against SIR alliance has described the march as an effort to restore democracy and called for the creation of “Jantar Mantars all over the country” to encourage public demonstrations.

Under the slogan ‘Har Haath Mein Tiranga’, the alliance has appealed to citizens, students, farmers, workers, women, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and other sections of society to join the protest.

Its demands include action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the scrapping of the SIR process and the restoration of eligible voters’ names removed from electoral rolls.

The alliance is also seeking wider political participation, particularly from parties in the INDIA bloc, as opposition to the electoral roll revision exercise gathers support from activists and public figures.