Names of minority voters not dropped from list: Karnataka CM

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the names of voters from minority communities have not been dropped from the voters’ list in the state.

He dismissed charges that there were unofficial surveys and that names of minority voters were deleted.

“The State Election Commission has taken cognizance of the matter and under its monitoring, the voters’ list revision exercise has been taken up. Both the Central as well as State Election Commission have taken the issue seriously,” Bommai said.

“If there are complaints on these lines, the investigation has to be conducted by the officers. The development of illegal inclusion of voters has also taken place.

“There are voters who have two voter ID’s. Their names should be deleted by the Election Commission. The right of exercise of voting power should be there for eligible population and the process has to be monitored by the Commission,” the Chief Minister added.

Bommai’s remarks come as the state’s ruling BJP government is facing allegations by the opposition Congress of manipulating the voters’ list and stealing data to its advantage.