Karnataka SIR: CM Shivakumar rejects Opposition’s charges of manipulation

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday rejected the Opposition BJP and JDS charge that the government was indulging in large scale irregularities in the voter enrolment in the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR).

“Their job has always been to blame the government,” the CM told the media, responding to the allegations.

On the Opposition’s charge that the SIR process was being done in one place instead of the officials going door to door, Shivakumar said, "We have requested everyone to retain their voting power in an attempt to ensure.”


The Congress also has its own grouse against the election commission of India (ECI) and the party would protest in a legal way, the CM said.

The voter enumeration exercise under the special intensive revision (SIR) began in Karnataka on June 30 has come under attacked by the Opposition parties. A BJP delegation led by state president BY Vijayendra lodged a complaint with the ECI in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy has urged the ECI to scrap the ongoing SIR in the state and order a fresh exercise, alleging large-scale political interference by the ruling Congress. The BJP also levelled similar allegations, accusing the government of manipulating the voter verification process.

The allegations by the BJP and its NDA ally JD(S), backed by video clips, have shifted the political focus onto the one-month-old DK Shivakumar government, which had earlier criticised the SIR exercise over concerns of voter deletions.