Bengaluru, June 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Congress-led state government of creating hurdles in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The SIR commenced across Karnataka on Tuesday, with more than 59,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) launching a month-long door-to-door verification exercise to ensure the state's electoral rolls remain accurate, complete, and up to date.
Speaking to reporters at the party's state headquarters, Jagannath Bhavan, in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R. Ashoka alleged that an inadequate number of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had been appointed and claimed that in several places, BJP workers had found that the required number of officials had not been deployed.
"The state government is obstructing the SIR exercise in one way or another. It has started creating problems from the very beginning," he alleged.
Ashoka further claimed that the objective of the SIR exercise was to ensure that only genuine voters remained on the electoral rolls and alleged that the Congress was opposed to removing the names of illegal immigrants.
"The purpose of the SIR is to ensure that only genuine voters remain on the electoral rolls. Duplicate entries and ineligible names must be removed," he said.
The BJP leader also alleged that the state government had appointed Congress functionaries, rather than government officials, as Booth Level Officers in certain areas.
"In Jayanagar, we have found around 20 such instances where party functionaries have allegedly been appointed. Some of them are even carrying party symbols while conducting election-related work. This is a serious violation, and the Election Commission must take immediate action," he demanded.
Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan alleged that the state government was not following due procedure in implementing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and urged that only government employees be appointed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
Responding to a question from reporters, Ashwath Narayan said that under the SIR process, government employees should be appointed as BLOs, but alleged that members of social organisations had been assigned the role in some places.
"Only government employees should be appointed as Booth Level Officers. There should be no confusion or interference in the process. The government must ensure that only authorised government officials are entrusted with this responsibility," he said.
He said the Special Intensive Revision was not being conducted for the first time and noted that similar exercises had been undertaken several times in the past.
"This is not the first SIR exercise. It has been conducted 8 to 10 times previously. A similar revision was carried out in 2002, and now it is being undertaken again in 2026. The objective is to prevent bogus voting and remove duplicate names from the electoral rolls," he said.
Ashwath Narayan accused Congress ministers of making misleading statements about the exercise.
"When the time has come to clean up and revise the electoral rolls, Congress ministers holding responsible positions should stop making misleading statements. They should allow the electoral rolls to be updated transparently," he said.
Referring to illegal immigration, the BJP leader claimed that intelligence agencies had estimated the presence of around 25 lakh Bangladeshis in Karnataka.
"The Intelligence Department says there are around 25 lakh Bangladeshis in our state. Should citizens of another country be allowed to become voters here?" he asked.
Responding to a question on the recent law and order situation in Hangal, Ashwath Narayan alleged that incidents of violence had increased since the Congress government came to power.
"Ever since the Congress government assumed office, lawlessness has increased. Encouragement for such incidents is everywhere. Even those involved in serious offences are being let off lightly," he alleged.
Source: IANS
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