Pralhad Joshi questions legality of CM’s SIR protest in Bengaluru

Hubballi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has launched a strong attack on Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over the latter’s dharna at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Bengaluru, questioning whether the protest was held with the necessary permission.

Addressing a press conference in Hubballi, Joshi accused Shivakumar of putting political considerations ahead of governance by postponing a Cabinet meeting and leading ministers to the CEO’s office to protest against issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Joshi alleged that the Chief Minister’s protest was aimed at pleasing Rahul Gandhi and retaining his position. He said it was unusual for a Chief Minister and the entire Cabinet to stage a demonstration outside the office of a constitutional election authority.

The Union minister questioned the Karnataka police over the absence of an FIR against Shivakumar and the ministers who participated in the protest. He argued that the state government had itself laid down rules requiring prior permission for public demonstrations and that protests in Bengaluru were subject to designated locations and permissions.

Joshi said the police should initiate action if the protest violated the applicable rules. He also warned that if no action was taken, the BJP could stage a protest outside the DGP’s office without seeking permission.

The protest was linked to Congress allegations concerning bulk Form-7 applications and the possible deletion of eligible voters during the SIR exercise. The CEO subsequently directed electoral officials across the state to take legal action against persons found knowingly submitting false or non-genuine Form-7 applications.

Defending the electoral-roll revision process, Joshi said deletion of a voter’s name was not an automatic procedure. According to him, Booth Level Officers and Booth Level Agents undertake verification at different stages, while election officials examine Form-7 applications before deciding whether any action is warranted.

Joshi also cited the addition of 2.37 crore voters who had reached the age of 18 since the SIR exercise began. He argued that the process was facilitating the enrolment of eligible young voters rather than preventing them from entering the electoral rolls.

He alleged that Congress was opposing SIR to safeguard its political vote bank and made further allegations concerning foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan. These claims were presented by Joshi as political allegations and were not independently verified.

Joshi maintained that electoral rolls are available to recognised political parties and that parties and citizens have opportunities to raise objections regarding questionable entries. He said eligible voters should not be concerned about arbitrary deletion because the prescribed verification and notice procedures must be followed.