Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre slammed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list as a ‘blot on democracy,’ claiming it aims to disenfranchise thousands. CM DK Shivakumar has deferred the Assembly session to August for the process.
Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre has hit out at the authorities over the ongoing SIR process and the preparation of a new voter list, terming it a “blot on democracy and the Constitution”.
Speaking on the move, the minister questioned the justification behind creating a fresh list decades after independence, alleging that the exercise is designed to strip thousands of eligible citizens of their voting rights. “After independence, after so many years, they are preparing a fresh voter list. How can they prepare a fresh voter list? How can they justify it? They want to disqualify thousands and thousands of people from their voting rights. So it is a blot on democracy and the constitution,” Khandre told ANI.
The minister further asserted that they are fighting to protect the democratic rights of the people, ensuring no eligible voter is left out. “Now we are fighting for the rights of the people. Everybody who is an eligible voter should be enrolled in the voter list,” he added.
Assembly session deferred amid SIR drive
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the state Assembly session has been deferred to August in view of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in the state, adding that the state government will finalise dates only after the completion of the exercise.
Addressing a press conference here, he added that the state government has decided to postpone the Assembly session, originally planned for July, to August as several officials, MLAs and political parties remain engaged in the SIR process. “We had planned to convene it earlier, possibly in the second or third week, and therefore wanted to allow 15 days’ time. But now, because of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, we have arrived at a different decision. Let the SIR process be completed first,” he said.
He further said that the notification process related to SIR will continue till August 5, and until then, elected representatives and officials are fully occupied with ensuring that eligible voters are not left out of the electoral rolls.
The Chief Minister added that the Assembly session would be scheduled after the publication of draft rolls.
Cabinet sets conditions for ECI
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which commenced across the state, will continue till July 29.
Karnataka Cabinet passed a resolution setting out conditions it wanted the ECI to fulfil before the exercise began in the state.
The Cabinet asked the Commission to conduct a full independent review of the SIR process, including its legal basis, deletion criteria, supervisory structure, software systems and safeguards.
It also demanded a detailed manual explaining every discrepancy criterion, including so-called “logical discrepancies,” along with the underlying algorithms, software logic, SOPs and the officials responsible at each stage. (ANI)
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