Karnataka: CM DK Shivakumar to launch PRC campaign amid SIR, minister Joshi questions timing & intent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will on Monday launch the Karnataka government's campaign to issue permanent resident certificates (PRCs) and caste certificates to eligible residents, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the BJP amid the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The campaign comes after the Election Commission of India (ECI) extended the voter enumeration exercise under the SIR to August 8. The draft electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on August 17, with the final rolls due on October 19.

The Congress government is proceeding with the initiative despite objections from the BJP, which has questioned both the timing and the intent behind issuing PRCs during the voter roll revision.


Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi alleged that the move could undermine the SIR exercise. "The Congress government's intention is not to help genuine voters but to facilitate the inclusion of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries in the electoral rolls," Joshi told ET.

The Dharwad MP said PRCs should be issued only after thorough verification of an applicant's citizenship credentials. With district officials already engaged in the SIR exercise, he argued that issuing PRCs simultaneously could create opportunities for ineligible applicants using forged documents, thereby compromising the integrity of the voter revision process.

Earlier, Minister of State for Labour and Employment and MSME Shobha Karandlaje had raised similar concerns, urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene. She accused the Congress government of using the PRC drive to regularise illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

The Bengaluru North MP alleged that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were moving from Bihar and West Bengal to Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka. In a letter to Shah, she sought an examination of the constitutional validity of the state government's PRC notification and urged the Centre to direct Karnataka to keep its implementation in abeyance pending scrutiny.