Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday said the Election Commission of India should respond to questions raised by the Congress before beginning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, scheduled to start on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge said the state government will consult Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and decide the next steps after reviewing the ECI's response. He said Congress had submitted written objections to the Chief Election Commissioner, listing around eight to ten concerns about the SIR process.
“The Election Commission should first answer the questions raised by Congress regarding the SIR exercise. Only after addressing those concerns should it proceed with the revision of the electoral rolls in Karnataka,” Kharge said.
The ECI has completed preparations for the door-to-door verification drive, which will run from June 29 to July 29. Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar is scheduled to hold a press conference in Bengaluru on the exercise on Monday. Concurrently, the Congress has launched an awareness campaign across the state and asked party workers to monitor the voter-list revision.
Kharge sought clarifications on several issues, including the ECI’s definition of “logical discrepancy” and the grounds on which a voter can be removed from the rolls. He said deletions should follow due process — including issuing a legal notice, passing a speaking order and allowing affected individuals to seek redress before the appropriate tribunal.
Voters should not lose their franchise over spelling errors or minor name discrepancies, he added. “So far, the Election Commission has not provided any clarification. We submitted our concerns in writing not only to the Election Commission of India but also to the State Election Commission. We are yet to receive any response,” Kharge said.
He emphasised that Congress is not opposed to routine voter-list revision, which he called the ECI’s constitutional duty, but said SIR exercises in other states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have raised concerns about exclusion of vulnerable groups.
Kharge also raised questions about the reported use of artificial intelligence in the revision process, asking who audited such software and how it operates. He cited reports that around 8.9 million voters were removed from rolls elsewhere without adequate opportunity to challenge decisions and noted a retired tribunal judge’s warning that tribunals could take years to clear related cases.
“We will discuss the matter with the Chief Minister and decide the future course of action. Apart from our party's campaign, there is also a need to create public awareness. At the same time, we are examining the legal aspects of the issue,” Kharge said.
(Inputs from IANS)