Published Oct 22, 2026 | 9:38 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 22, 2026 | 9:42 PM
Organised by the ‘Chennai’s Jantar Mantar 2.0’ platform, the protest began at 4 pm.
Synopsis: Tamil Nadu Police detained protesters from nine organisations in Chennai on Thursday, about four hours into a 24-hour agitation against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore. Organised by the ‘Chennai’s Jantar Mantar 2.0’ platform, the protest demanded the scrapping of SIR and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, despite the police denying permission.
The Tamil Nadu Police detained protesters from nine organisations in Chennai on Thursday, 22 October, about four hours after they began a 24-hour agitation against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore.
Organised by the ‘Chennai’s Jantar Mantar 2.0’ platform, the protest began at 4 pm. The protesters are demanding the scrapping of the SIR exercise, the restoration of names deleted from electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The organisations had earlier sought permission from the police but were denied permission. The organisers subsequently announced that the agitation would proceed as planned, defying the restrictions.
The platform comprises the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Youth Federation (AIYF), All India Students’ Federation (AISF), Congress Jananayaga Peravai (CJP), All India Students’ Association (AISA), Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA), All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) and All India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO).
DYFI State secretary S Karthi had earlier accused the police of suppressing democratic protests, drawing a comparison with the Delhi Police. He pointed to the participation of a Tamil Nadu Minister in an INDIA bloc protest against SIR and questioned why the police had denied permission for the Chennai agitation.
Karthi also demanded a response from Chief Minister Vijay, who holds the Home portfolio, and questioned the contradictory statements on SIR by Ministers Rajmohan and Nirmalkumar.
Earlier, Karthi had said the police had also denied permission for a protest against alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)
