Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi clarified that his remarks on electoral roll revisions were misinterpreted, emphasizing that alleged attempts by the BJP to delete Congress voters were successfully foiled through sustained political agitation.
Minister Satish Jarkiholi Clarifies Electoral Roll Stance
Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi on Thursday clarified his earlier statement on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, saying that his comments have been ‘misinterpreted’. He said that the intent of his statement was meant to convey that the alleged attempts of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to delete “Congress supporting voters” through Form – 7 (used for requesting deletion of voters) has been foiled with the agitation led by Rahul Gandhi.
In a statement on X, Jarkiholi said, “My statement given before the media regarding SIR has been misinterpreted.” Clarifying his intent, he said, “Compared to other states, the BJP’s conspiracy to delete names of Congress-supporting voters from the electoral rolls in Karnataka through Form-7 has been foiled through the struggle of our national leader Shri Rahul Gandhi and under the guidance of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri D.K. Shivakumar — this was the intention of my statement. However, I did not make a statement in the sense that the SIR process is correct.”
Details on Voter Roll Processes
He said that the attempt to delete eligible voters has been foiled and successfully countered from Belagavi district itself. “My stand against any attempt to snatch away the rights of eligible voters has been firm from the beginning. I strongly oppose attempts to illegally remove names of eligible voters from the voters’ list. I stand firmly with our leader Shri Rahul Gandhi for the protection of democratic values and voting rights,” he said. “I clarify that my statement should not be misinterpreted and its real intent should be understood,” Jarkiholi added.
Contrasting Views Within the Party
Earlier on Thursday, Minister Jarkiholi defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, said that the SIR was conducted ‘properly’ in Karnataka, and that Karnataka’s example should be followed n other states too. “We didn’t protest about SIR in Karnataka, we raised issues about the SIR process in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, etc. Because of all the training we gave, SIR has been done properly in Karnataka, we want it to be done the same way in other states too,” Jarkiholi said.
On the deletion of one crore votes, Jarkiholi said, “Yes, these are people who have died, shifted, or duplications; this should have been done in other places.” His defence of the process in Karnataka also drew responses from party colleagues. Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge expressed reservations about Jarkiholi’s assessment, citing alleged irregularities involving Form 7 applications used to seek the deletion of names from electoral rolls.
“I’m not sure what information Jarkiholi has. For example, in Chittapur, in a single booth, 40 people were targeted who were from a single community, and that was investigated by the returning officers, and it was found that the pre-printed Form 7 was available in bulk. Nobody knew its origins. The person who had submitted the Form 7 did not know why he had done that, and all they said was, ‘It’s come from the top.’ So that’s a very clear indication that this is a conspiracy that has its roots all over the place, and it’s centralised. We will get to the bottom of it,” Kharge said.
Jarkiholi’s clarification comes a day before the INDIA-bloc mega rally scheduled on November 1, which has also faced apprehension from traders’ body over the expected loss of revenue in peak festive season due to the high turnout expected. With 10 lakh people expected to attend, the traders body has said that a “lockdown” like situation could arise which could affect over 20 markets around the Ramlila maidan area. (ANI)
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