EC assures action on NDA’s complaint over K’taka SIR: Pralhad Joshi

Bengaluru, July 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has assured the NDA delegation that it will examine the complaints regarding alleged irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka and take appropriate action.

Addressing the media after submitting a memorandum to the Election Commission in Delhi, Joshi said the Commission had examined their representation in detail and assured the delegation that suitable action would be taken.

Joshi said they met the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners and informed them that the Congress government in Karnataka is allegedly attempting to derail the SIR process and subvert the entire exercise.

He alleged that while the Congress had initially opposed the SIR process, it is now indulging in irregularities during its implementation.

He further alleged that there was a conspiracy to include Bangladeshi nationals in the electoral rolls in major cities such as Hubballi, Dharwad and Mysuru.

Joshi claimed that Booth Level Agents (BLAs) are not being provided proper information, and whenever they question the mass processing of SIR forms, officials respond arrogantly, asking them to do whatever they want.

Referring to the deletion of names from electoral rolls, Joshi alleged that officials had informed them about verbal instructions not to delete the names of deceased voters. He said when they asked why the process was being carried out in such haste, officials told them they had received oral instructions not to remove the names of deceased voters from the electoral rolls.

Joshi also claimed that the Election Commission's guidelines permit applicants whose names were not included in the 2002 electoral rolls to establish eligibility only through specified family relationships such as parents or grandparents. However, in Karnataka, people are allegedly citing distant relatives, such as uncles and other extended family members, while filling out Enumeration Forms, which is illegal.

He said they have brought all these irregularities to the notice of the Election Commission.

He also targeted the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he had made accusations of voter fraud in Bengaluru but failed to substantiate them. Joshi said LoP Rahul Gandhi alleged large-scale voter fraud in Bengaluru but later did not file any formal complaint. He added that they have informed the Commission that a parallel SIR exercise is allegedly being carried out in the 27 GBA wards he had referred to.

Joshi said the delegation had urged the Election Commission to appoint independent observers to monitor the SIR process in Karnataka. He said Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has also submitted a pen drive containing evidence regarding the alleged irregularities. They have requested that the Election Commission appoint observers, that the state government stop acting in a manner that violates the Constitution, and that strict action be taken.

Joshi clarified that the NDA's demand was not to exclude any particular community from the SIR process. He said their only demand is that the exercise should be conducted properly and strictly in accordance with the Election Commission's guidelines.

He alleged that illegal infiltrators have not entered the country overnight, and earlier governments in West Bengal did not even provide land to the Border Security Force to fence the international border. After the BJP came to power there, land was provided. He added that if illegal infiltrators enter the country through illegal means, village accountants and local police should be the first to identify them and initiate action.

He also alleged that Booth Level Officers were distributing Congress party pamphlets and claimed that the SIR process was being conducted irregularly in both urban and rural areas.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy alleged that more than 20 lakh Bangladeshi nationals were living in Karnataka. He said even ministers in the state government have admitted that more than 20 lakh Bangladeshis are in Karnataka.

He alleged that the government is protecting them by issuing voter identity cards and Aadhaar cards, and urged the Election Commission to identify and remove such names from the electoral rolls.

Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka alleged that the state government is exerting oral pressure on officials and has instructed them not to delete Muslim names such as Khan, Abdul and Karim from the electoral rolls. He further alleged that officials had been directed not to delete the names of Muslim voters from the electoral rolls, while they were free to take action against names belonging to people of other religions. Ashoka also claimed that Deputy Commissioners across the state were complying with these alleged oral instructions out of fear.

Union Ministers Shobha Karandlaje and V. Somanna, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, Legislative Council Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Minister Bandeppa Kashempur, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Arvind Bellad, MP Mallesh Babu, senior BJP leader Srinivas Poojari and several other NDA leaders were present during the meeting.

Source: IANS