No SIR interference, committed to protecting every voter’s rights: Shivakumar
Kalaburagi, July 7 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday asserted that the state government will not interfere in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reiterated that its priority is to safeguard the voting rights of every eligible citizen.
Addressing reporters in Kalaburagi, the chief minister said the government has extended full cooperation to the Election Commission to ensure that the revision process is carried out transparently and lawfully.
Shivakumar said the SIR process is underway in the state, and the government has decided to ensure complete transparency so that every eligible voter retains their voting rights. He added that the government has no interest in politicising the issue, and while others are free to criticise, the government’s commitment is to protect the voting rights of every individual in the state.
He said the government has raised its objections regarding the SIR process before the court while continuing to cooperate with the Election Commission.
The Chief Minister said the Opposition believed that the government would not cooperate with the SIR process. He said that although there may be differences of opinion, they cannot allow people to lose their voting rights because of them. Therefore, the government has extended a level of cooperation that no other state has provided. At the same time, he said they will not permit the process to be carried out outside the law.
Shivakumar said Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to visit every household at least three times during the verification exercise. He added that political parties have also been permitted to assist voters in filling out enumeration forms through Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s).
He said the BLOs must revise strictly in accordance with the Election Commission’s guidelines and within the legal framework.
Emphasising the government’s commitment to ensuring no eligible voter is left out, Shivakumar said no eligible voter should lose the right to vote. He said politics is not important here; protecting every citizen’s franchise is the government’s responsibility. He added that BLOs must ensure, through at least three visits to every household, that the names of all eligible voters are retained in the electoral rolls, and there can be no compromise on this.
The chief minister also announced that the government will issue residence certificates and caste certificates free of cost to help citizens obtain the documents required for the electoral revision process.
When asked about the Opposition’s allegation that officials were being pressured during the SIR process, Shivakumar said the officials are carrying out their duties in accordance with the Election Commission’s guidelines, and the government is not interfering in the process.
He said this is the responsibility of the Central government, while the state’s responsibility is to provide the required staff, which they are fulfilling.
Meanwhile, senior leaders of the NDA Karnataka delegation met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on Tuesday and submitted a detailed memorandum highlighting alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls in Karnataka.
The delegation urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately suspend the ongoing SIR process in the state, direct the re-verification of all enumeration forms already collected, and ensure mandatory door-to-door verification in accordance with the prescribed norms.
The memorandum requested that Central Observers from other states be appointed in every district to oversee the entire SIR process and ensure that the revision is conducted in a fair, transparent, and impartial manner.
The delegation also demanded strict legal and disciplinary action against all officials and political functionaries found responsible for violating the prescribed procedures or facilitating the alleged irregularities.
–IANS
mka/dan