BJP conspiring to deny voting rights to minorities: Shivakumar on SIR row

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday accused the opposition of attempting to deprive poor and minority communities of their voting rights through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, while asserting that his government was only creating awareness among citizens to help them safeguard their franchise.

Speaking to reporters at the Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said that although the state government had reservations about the SIR process, it was extending full cooperation to the Election Commission to ensure that no eligible voter lost the right to vote.

Responding to questions about Union Ministers H.D. Kumaraswamy and Pralhad Joshi submitting a complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, the Chief Minister said the government had already challenged certain aspects of the process before the court and would continue to pursue legal remedies against the schedule fixed for the revision.

“We have differences over the SIR process, and we have presented our arguments before the court. We are also unhappy with the timeline and will challenge it legally. However, our government’s priority is to protect the voting rights of every citizen. That is why we are cooperating with the Election Commission and creating awareness among people about preserving their right to vote,” he said.

He said the Election Commission had permitted all political parties to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s), and that the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) had all appointed their representatives. Election officials were operating strictly in accordance with the Commission’s guidelines.

“The opposition is afraid because the government is creating awareness among people. They are themselves expressing a lack of confidence in the Election Commission and are demanding that the process be scrapped. That decision rests with the Election Commission,” he said.

Rejecting allegations regarding illegal Bangladeshi migrants, Shivakumar questioned why the BJP had failed to deport such migrants when it was in power.

“They keep talking about illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. If they were in power, why didn’t they deport them then? Who stopped them?” he asked.

Shivakumar claimed that no other state government had extended the level of cooperation that Karnataka had provided to the Election Commission during the SIR exercise.

The Chief Minister said nearly 4.5 crore people in Karnataka held caste certificates, which were now available for online download.

He added that the government had authorised Deputy Tahsildars to issue residence certificates and had also enabled citizens to download older electoral records, acknowledging that very few people would still possess documents dating back to 2002.

“Our government is only urging people to protect their voting rights. We are facilitating access to documents so that no genuine voter is left out,” he said.

Shivakumar also defended the government’s outreach efforts, saying help centres had been established at every polling booth for the first time to assist voters with the SIR process.

IANS