Karnataka Home Minister says police directed not to disrupt peaceful demonstration

Activists being picked up by police during a protest near K.R. circle in Bengaluru on October 12, 2026. The protesters were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge has announced that ‘the handling of the protestors on October 12 by Bengaluru Police will be reviewed’. He added that he has issued instructions to the police to ‘ensure that no peaceful demonstration is disrupted’.This comes a day after Bengaluru police detained over a 100 persons for trying to march to the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Police manhandled journalists and photographers, apart from protesters, on a day when Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar was participating in a protest rally against SIR in New Delhi, drawing much ire. “The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy. It must be respected, protected, and never suppressed. I have issued instructions to the police to ensure that no peaceful demonstration is disrupted,” Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge wrote on social media platform X on October 13. “Our responsibility is not merely to maintain law and order, but to create an environment where every citizen can express dissent freely, peacefully, and without fear. In a democracy, peaceful dissent is not a threat to law and order. It is a right that law and order must protect,” he added. Meanwhile, he appealed to all protesters ‘to cooperate with the police and keep the authorities informed’.“The police are here to protect your rights, not to stand in the way of your voice,” he said. Published - October 13, 2026 12:20 pm IST