Karnataka: Kumaraswamy seeks fresh SIR, alleges govt interference

Bengaluru: Union Minister for Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy on Friday accused the Karnataka government of misusing the administrative machinery in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to scrap the exercise and begin the revision afresh.

Addressing a press conference at the JD(S) state headquarters, Kumaraswamy alleged that large-scale irregularities had taken place in Ramanagara and several other districts, with deputy commissioners acting at the behest of the state government.

"I will personally approach the Election Commission of India and lodge a complaint. The Chief Minister is the principal architect behind the entire SIR malpractice," he alleged.


The Union minister presented video footage, claiming it showed irregularities in the SIR exercise in Bengaluru's Yeshwanthpur assembly constituency. He alleged that officials were conducting the revision using booklets supplied by the local MLA and were acting under political pressure.

Kumaraswamy claimed that officials were not carrying out the mandatory door-to-door verification prescribed by the ECI and instead were revising electoral rolls to suit the ruling Congress' political interests.

He demanded that the revision carried out since June 30 be scrapped, fresh electoral rolls be prepared and action initiated against the deputy commissioners of Ramanagara and Bengaluru Urban districts.

The JD(S) leader also alleged that Congress workers and officials were acting in collusion to manipulate the exercise. He claimed party workers had caught an official violating the prescribed procedure in Yeshwanthpur and alleged that another official later asked them not to record videos of the exercise.

Referring to a video released earlier, Kumaraswamy alleged that the SIR exercise had been conducted from a community hall in Ramanagara instead of through door-to-door verification. He also claimed similar irregularities had been reported from Kunigal, Pavagada, Arkalgud and Indi assembly constituencies.

Kumaraswamy accused the Chief Minister of remaining silent over the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls and said the government was attempting to undermine the electoral process.

"Our party will submit a formal complaint to the Election Commission with evidence of these violations," he said.

The Union minister said he would personally meet the Election Commission and sought the deployment of independent officers from outside the state to supervise the revision process. He also demanded that local officials currently overseeing the exercise be removed.

"Unless independent officers are brought in, the government will continue to misuse the SIR process for political purposes," Kumaraswamy alleged.