Bengaluru, Aug 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide adequate time for verification and claims and objections during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, warning that procedural delays could result in genuine voters being disenfranchised.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Shivakumar said the SIR exercise had thrown up figures that warranted serious attention.
"Of the 5.54 crore voters in Karnataka, nearly 1.08 crore had been placed under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category," he added.
He noted that following publication of the draft electoral roll on August 24, verification notices were expected to be issued to around 43.8 lakh voters for "logical discrepancies" or absence of a link to the 2002 electoral roll.
"In Bengaluru alone, 46.88 lakh electors have been placed under the ASDDO category," Shivakumar said, adding that a large number of genuine voters could face difficulties unless they were given sufficient opportunity to submit claims for continuation or fresh inclusion.
The Chief Minister said several voters categorised as "Absent" could be genuine voters who were away from home due to work, health or other legitimate reasons when Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visited their residences.
He also raised concerns over voters who had shifted to a different polling station but were not given an opportunity to submit enumeration forms at their new residence during the house-to-house exercise.
Such voters could find their names deleted from the electoral roll at their previous address, the Chief Minister added.
"Mobility should not translate into disenfranchisement," Shivakumar said, stressing that the issue was particularly important for poorer and marginalised citizens who may move frequently for livelihood and may not readily possess the documents required to establish their eligibility.
The Chief Minister said the ECI had a dual responsibility of preparing accurate electoral rolls while ensuring that no genuine and eligible voter was excluded.
First, he sought an extension of the claims and objections period to give voters whose names were absent from the electoral draft roll, including those in the ASDDO category, sufficient time to establish their status and file claims through Form-6.
He cited Paragraph 11.3.1 of the 2023 Manual, which permits the ECI to extend the prescribed period through notification.
Second, Chief Minister Shivakumar urged the Commission to ensure full implementation of the prescribed procedure.
He called for District Election Officers to convene Ward Committee meetings in urban areas and Gram Sabhas in rural areas, with adequate advance publicity, so that draft rolls could be read out and omissions and errors identified.
Third, Shivakumar sought adequate time for voters facing verification.
He said the proposed period of around 45 days for issuing notices and disposing of cases relating to logical discrepancies and absence of a link to the 2002 electoral roll was highly compressed.
He suggested that voters should be provided a minimum of three to four weeks to respond and furnish the necessary documents, particularly considering the difficulties faced by working people, migrants and elderly voters who may need additional time to obtain documents or travel.
Fourth, CM Shivakumar urged the ECI to increase the number of Additional Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Deputy Electoral Officers in districts with a high number of ASDDO cases and logical discrepancies.
While noting that the ECI had appointed Additional EROs to handle the expected increase in objections and applications, Shivakumar said the available manpower could still be inadequate given the volume of work and the limited time.
The Chief Minister said the Karnataka government was ready to provide all possible assistance to the Commission, including mobilising local administration for Gram Sabha and Ward Committee meetings, undertaking widespread publicity to reach affected voters and extending logistical support.
"The objective must be an electoral roll that the people of Karnataka can trust: one in which every eligible citizen is included, every ineligible entry is removed, and no citizen is deprived of the franchise merely for want of adequate time, information or opportunity to establish his or her eligibility," Shivakumar added.
Source: IANS
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