K’taka: BJP MLC asks why Congress fears SIR, defends electoral roll revision

Bengaluru, Oct 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) BJP MLC C.T. Ravi on Friday questioned why the Congress was “afraid” of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the ruling party was making politically motivated accusations against the exercise.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Ravi said the SIR process was not initiated during a BJP government and claimed that the exercise had already been conducted 12 times across the country.

“Why is Congress afraid of SIR despite the process having been conducted several times?” he asked.

Ravi said the SIR exercise was being carried out legally under constitutional and electoral provisions.

He said names could be removed from electoral rolls for reasons such as the voter being deceased, having shifted residence or being registered at more than one location.

“Congress is questioning such a constitutionally sanctioned process,” he alleged.

Ravi claimed that the Congress appeared to consider SIR acceptable during the periods of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, but unacceptable when the BJP was in power.

He also questioned why the Congress government had not constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) despite reports of alleged Bangladeshi nationals working in municipal corporations in Bengaluru.

Ravi alleged that large numbers of illegal immigrants were living in Bengaluru and other cities and that thousands were also present in coffee estates in Chikkamagaluru and Madikeri districts.

He claimed such immigrants were taking away employment opportunities meant for Indian citizens and alleged that attempts to include them in electoral rolls would undermine democracy.

“Instead of addressing issues such as drought, the Chief Minister is staging a protest at the Election Commission office,” Ravi alleged.

He claimed that such actions were aimed at reducing pressure arising from allegations against the government and diverting public attention.

Ravi said the SIR exercise was not being carried out by agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), but by officials from departments under the state government, including the Revenue and Education Departments.

“Nearly 99 per cent of the work is being carried out by officials of departments under the state government,” he said.

He added that if anything went wrong, the state government would be responsible.

Ravi maintained that questioning the inclusion of alleged Bangladeshi nationals in the electoral rolls was a legitimate concern and said the state government should establish that such individuals were genuine voters.

He alleged that the BJP would submit complaints wherever irregularities were found, but claimed that the government was instead registering FIRs against those raising objections.

“Congress is worried that if complaints are properly verified, names of illegal immigrants may be removed from the electoral rolls,” he alleged.

Ravi further alleged that the Congress was treating alleged Bangladeshi immigrants as voters for immediate political gains and cautioned that such politics could eventually have consequences for the party itself.

He urged the Chief Election Commissioner to direct Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers to verify all objections.

Ravi said no one could prevent eligible citizens from submitting Form 6 applications for voter enrolment, while Form 7 remained available for filing objections regarding entries in electoral rolls.

“If suspicious voters are found, their names can be removed after due verification,” he said.

He added that the BJP had raised objections regarding the age details of certain voters.

According to Ravi, it is the responsibility of the concerned officials, particularly Booth Level Officers (BLOs), to verify such objections and determine the facts.

He also appealed to officials associated with the SIR process not to be intimidated by alleged threats.

Ravi criticised Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and D.K. Shivakumar, over allegations concerning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

He said those alleging that EVMs could be hacked should substantiate their claims before a court.

“If EVMs could be hacked, Congress would not have come to power in Karnataka. It would not have come to power in Kerala, Telangana or Himachal Pradesh either,” he said.

Ravi alleged that if EVMs had been manipulated, LoP Rahul Gandhi, Priyank Kharge and Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law would not have won elections, and D.K. Shivakumar would not have become Chief Minister.

He demanded that those who had made what he described as “false allegations” against EVMs publicly apologise.

Ravi also accused Congress workers of gathering hundreds of people at mosques, marriage halls and other venues and distributing enumeration forms during the SIR process.

“They did not remember the law when hundreds of people were gathered at mosques and marriage halls and enumeration forms were distributed,” he alleged.

He also rejected Congress claims that BJP representatives had submitted hundreds of objections at one time, stating that Booth Level Agents could submit only the number of objections permitted in a day.

Ravi said the submission of objections did not automatically result in the deletion of names and reiterated that final verification had to be carried out by Booth Level Officers.

He urged the state government to conduct a special investigation into alleged illegal immigration and cautioned against compromising internal security for political considerations.

Source: IANS