Anti-SIR Coalition Rejects ‘Arbitrary’ Revision Process, Plans Statewide Audit of Voter Lists

‘ಸರ್ವಾಧಿಕಾರಿ’ ಮತದಾರರ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಪರಿಷ್ಕರಣೆ ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಿದ SIR ವಿರೋಧಿ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟ: ಸಾಮೂಹಿಕ ಮತದಾರರ ಹೊರಗಿಡುವಿಕೆ ಆರೋಪ, ರಾಜ್ಯವ್ಯಾಪಿ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಲೆಕ್ಕಪರಿಶೋಧನೆಗೆ ಆಗ್ರಹ

Bengaluru, Sept. 12: A coalition of secular parties and civil society organisations opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has decided to reject the process, alleging serious irregularities in voter-list revision and warning that eligible citizens are being pushed out of the electoral rolls.

At a press conference in Bengaluru, Eddelu Karnataka office-bearer Noor Sridhar released “Civil Society FIR-2 against SIR”, focusing on alleged problems during the notice, document-verification, hearing and re-enrolment stages. An earlier report, FIR-1, had alleged that inadequate public information, insufficient training of BLOs and a hurried enumeration exercise resulted in 1.08 crore voters being placed in the ASDDO category for deletion.

‘Notices Delayed, Voters Given Little Time’

Sridhar said civil society groups had opposed SIR in principle but still worked for months to ensure genuine voters were not excluded. Volunteers conducted awareness programmes, established help desks, offered technical assistance and proposed village and ward-level meetings.

“Many affected people are daily-wage workers, construction workers and migrants. If a notice is given today and they are asked to appear with documents tomorrow, how are they expected to comply?” Sridhar asked.

He alleged that although the notice period began on August 24, notices had not reached many voters even by September 4. In some cases, notices were allegedly served on September 5 for hearings on September 7.

To document the allegations, civil society groups will conduct a “Matakavulu Sakshi Survey” across 100 polling booths, examining exclusions, notices, hearings, documents sought and difficulties faced by eligible voters.

Coalition Seeks Special Session Debate, Legal Challenge

CPM leader K. Mahantesh demanded cancellation of what he described as a “defective and malicious” SIR. He called for the Election Commission to accept responsibility and resign, while also demanding changes to the process of appointing election commissioners.

The coalition urged the Karnataka government to include SIR alongside the Kasturirangan and drought issues during the special legislative session scheduled for September 21-23. It said the disputed electoral rolls should not be accepted or used for local elections and called for legal action and a statewide social audit to restore eligible voters.

Actor Prakash Raj announced an “SIR Study Campaign” from September 22 to 30 across Karnataka. “Teams will travel across the state, document voters’ experiences and release a comprehensive report by month-end,” he said. Evidence from states where SIR has been implemented will also be presented at a proposed national public hearing in Delhi on October 15.

Prakash Raj Questions ‘Different Treatment’ for Celebrities

Referring to reports of actor Shivarajkumar and other public figures receiving notices, Prakash Raj questioned whether influential citizens were receiving preferential assistance.

“Are ordinary citizens any less? Aren’t they human beings too? Voting rights must be equal whether someone is rich, poor, famous or unknown,” he said.

Raj also questioned the use of Form 6 for people whose names were previously on the rolls, arguing that asking such voters to declare themselves first-time applicants creates a contradiction. He further alleged discrepancies between Kannada and English versions of the August 24 draft rolls, including different names against the same EPIC number.

“Citizens are standing in queues and pleading to protect their voting rights,” Raj said. “In India, the right to vote must be equal for everyone.”

Actor Prakash Raj, B.T. Lalitha Naik, J.M. Veerasangaiah, K. Mahantesh, Sitaram Gundappa, Amjad Pasha, Nagesh Aralakuppe, Ramakrishna and Indiramma attended the press conference.