'Don't Want Anti-National, Illegal Immigrants to be Given Voting Right': BJP MLA Alleges Irregularities in Karnataka SIR Drive

Tumkur (Karnataka): Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka MLA GB Jyothi Ganesh on Sunday raised serious concerns regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Karnataka, saying that the instructions of the apex poll body are not being followed properly by the officers on the ground. The MLA has alleged that Congress leaders are "pressuring" Booth Level Officers (BLO) to enrol ineligible individuals into the electoral rolls to increase the party's vote share.

Speaking to ANI, the BJP leader claimed that the exercise, which began on June 30, is being diverted from its intended purpose to benefit a specific vote share.

He said that people are being asked to gather in religious places for enumeration, saying, "In a lot of places, complaints have come that some BLOs and government officers are gathering a lot of crowd, especially the minority crowd in mosques, open spaces...I think they are doing this based on the instructions from the Congress party. They are not acting as per the instructions given by the Election Commission of India... every Indian citizen should be eligible to vote."

According to the BJP leader, BLOs are instead supposed to go door to door for this exercise.

"The Election Commission of India has started SIR in Karnataka from June 30. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were supposed to go house-by-house in each booth and paste a sticker on the door of the house to guarantee that they have given the enumeration form," he added.

Saying that "anti-nationals and illegal immigrants" should not be given the right to vote, he accused the Congress-led government in the state of "pressuring" the BLOs in enrolling certain ineligible people. "We don't want anti-nationals, people from outside the country, and illegal immigrants to be given the voting right...I think the Congress government in Karnataka is provoking and pressurising these BLOs to illegally enrol immigrants to increase their vote share," he said.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy launched a scathing attack on the Karnataka government, alleging widespread irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The JD(S) leader accused the state administration of "misusing" machinery to manipulate the voter list and called for the immediate scrapping of the current exercise.

Kumaraswamy alleged that the SIR exercise in various constituencies, including Yeshwanthpur and Ramanagara, was being conducted under direct political influence rather than following Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines.

Kumaraswamy launched a scathing attack on KPCC President BK Hariprasad and Home Minister Priyank Kharge over their silence on the issue.

Speaking to the media at his residence here, the Union Minister said, "Poor fellow. I don't know where the KPCC President has disappeared. Despite all this chaos unfolding, he is nowhere to be seen. He comments on virtually every issue, every single day. The State Home Minister, too, issues statements on almost everything. Should he not speak about the irregularities in the SIR process? Those who lecture everyone about discipline and restraint should surely have something to say about this as well."

"They are always the first to lecture others. The SIR issue is being discussed across the length and breadth of the State. I am surprised by the silence of both the Home Minister and the KPCC President," Kumaraswamy said.

Kumaraswamy urged the ECI to scrap the entire SIR of electoral rolls conducted so far in Karnataka and appoint a competent officer from outside the State to oversee a fresh SIR exercise.

"Electoral roll revision in Karnataka is witnessing irregularities on an unprecedented scale. The State Government is misusing the entire administrative machinery to facilitate this," he alleged.

He further alleged that there is "no credibility left" in the exercise, adding, "There is no credibility left in the electoral roll revision exercise being conducted in Karnataka. We have already lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission and have also sent a complaint to the Election Commission of India. The State election authorities have said they will act in accordance with the directions received from the Commission. Our party's unequivocal demand is that the entire revision exercise conducted so far must be scrapped."

Kumaraswamy has said that he will travel to Delhi on Monday (July 6) to lodge an official complaint with the ECI.

"I will travel to New Delhi on Monday. We will meet the Election Commissioner and lodge a formal complaint. We will place before the Commission details of the irregularities that have taken place here. We will urge the Election Commission to immediately halt the entire process carried out so far in Karnataka and conduct the SIR exercise afresh," Kumaraswamy said.

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