Har gali mei Jantar Mantar: Sitharaman's husband to join Dipke in anti-SIR protest

Noted economist Parakala Prabhakar will share the stage with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and actor-activist Prakash Raj in a nationwide protest against the SIR exercise on October 23.

In Short

• Parakala Prabhakar to join October 23 protest against SIR
• Protest aims to demand scrapping of SIR, resignation of Gyanesh Kumar
• Abhijeet Dipke, Prakash Raj, Neha Bora likely to attend agitation

Noted economist Parakala Prabhakar, the husband of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is set to share the stage with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and actor-activist Prakash Raj in a nationwide protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The October 23 protest, being organised by the People Against SIR alliance, will bring together activists, political voices and public figures to demand the scrapping of the SIR and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

"Har gali me Jantar Mantar! Friday, October 23, 2026. People's march to restore democracy. Let's rise to the challenge," Prabhakar, a vocal critic of the government's economic policies, tweeted. The economist and author is expected to share the platform with senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, AISA president Neha Bora and author Tushar Gandhi.

While the alliance has also appealed to INDIA bloc parties to join the protests, their participation has not been confirmed.

WHO IS PARAKALA PRABHAKAR?

Prabhakar had also joined the CJP's October 8 protest in Bengaluru's Freedom Park along with the likes of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and Prakash Raj.

Despite his wife's long association with the BJP, Prabhakar has been an outspoken critic of the ruling party.

In his book, 'The Crooked Timber of New India', Prabhakar has vehemently critiqued decisions like demonetisation, flagged rising unemployment, and questioned what he described as the weakening of democratic institutions.

Born in Andhra Pradesh's Narsapuram, Prabhakar met Sitharaman during their stints at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Despite their differing political inclinations, they married in 1986.

While people know Prabhakar for his outspoken views on economics, his short political stint was equally eventful.

His political involvement goes back to 2009, when he was associated with the Praja Rajyam Party, which was founded by actor Chiranjeevi. From 2014 to 2018, Prabhakar served as the communications adviser to the Andhra government under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

He quit abruptly in April 2018, weeks after the TDP walked out of the NDA amid a row over special status for Andhra Pradesh. Prabhakar resigned amid allegations by the opposition that he might compromise on the state's interests as his family member (Sitharaman) belonged to another party.

His participation in the October 23 protest is likely to lend greater visibility to the agitation.

ANTI-SIR PROTEST GAINS MOMENTUM

In fact, the expected presence of several prominent figures has also drawn attention to the newly formed People Against SIR alliance. Formed on October 14, the alliance brings together diverse groups of students, farmers, Dalits, Adivasis and minorities under a single umbrella.

In a statement, the alliance alleged that the SIR exercise had led to the large-scale deletion of eligible voters, particularly from marginalised and vulnerable communities. The SIR exercise has led to the exclusion of 13 crore voters so far.

The alliance is seeking to build momentum for its campaign at a time when the INDIA bloc and the CJP have announced a pause in their protests against the SIR and Gyanesh Kumar. It is essentially looking to leverage the gap to mobilise support.

It has urged citizens to organise protests in their localities and set up "Jantar Mantars" across the country on October 23. It has also coined a slogan - "Har haath mei Tiranga, Har gali mei Jantar Mantar (The Tricolour in every hand, a Jantar Mantar in every street)".

Notably, the call comes days after the Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, made Jantar Mantar off-limits by denotifying it as a protest site.

The past few weeks have seen central Delhi crippled by escalating street protests by the Rahul Gandhi-led INDIA bloc and the CJP against Gyanesh Kumar.

The catalyst was an expose by the Indian Express that suggested that Gyanesh Kumar had ridden roughshod over several instances of dissent by his fellow Election Commissioners. In fact, there were as many as 14 objections over the past 10 months.

It has only given ammunition to Rahul to link it to his wider 'vote chori' campaign against the Modi government.

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