DKS, ministers squat outside SEC office, allege Form 7 misuse, voter-deletion plan

In possibly the first instance in the country that an entire state government has taken to the streets against the Election Commission (EC), Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday (October 1) cancelled the state Cabinet meeting and began a protest outside the State EC office with his ministers.

The reason for the protest is alleged irregularities in the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process in the state. Releasing video and audio evidence of the alleged misuse of Form 7—allegedly containing pre-printed voter information—the government is pressuring the EC to register cases against those responsible.

Ministers threaten to continue siege

The chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues threatened to not leave the EC office until cases are registered against those who allegedly “conspired to remove minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Class voters” from the electoral rolls.

Also read: SIR Form-7 row: Transparency under scanner amid community targeting allegations

During a Press conference in the morning, Shivakumar alleged that BJP workers in several Assembly constituencies had submitted Form-7 applications to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) seeking the deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls. He described this as a criminal conspiracy and a systematic plot aimed at disturbing communal harmony.

In some constituencies, there were allegedly attempts to delete between 5,000 and 10,000 votes. Members of a civil society group led by actor Prakash Raj visited polling stations and collected information, he said.

CM’s allegations

Evidence has reportedly been found in Bhalki, Babaleshwar, Gokak and T Narasipura constituencies, where Opposition leaders allegedly misused Form 7. The state government has instructed booth-level agents in several taluks to identify such violations.

“More than 1,634 such applications have been submitted in Babaleshwar. In Vijayapura, 14,000 applications were submitted. In Bhalki, BJP workers submitted 3,244 such applications,” Shivakumar claimed.

Also read: Oppn protests across states seek CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal, turn up heat over SIR

“We have discovered that BJP workers submitted hundreds of Form-7 applications in their own names. In Babaleshwar, BJP workers Bhimu Golasangi, Huchappa Ganiger, Vinayak Mamadas, Govind Mudanur, Anand Ambiger, Mahesh Mukartihal and others have reportedly given written confessions. The Chief Minister’s Office has also released documents related to this,” he said.

CM seeks thorough probe

Shivakumar also claimed that the SIR process in Karnataka had already removed the names of 1.07 crore voters and notices had been issued to 45 lakh voters. He further alleged that BJP workers were now plotting to remove around 50 lakh more voters from the electoral rolls.

“The State Election Commission must immediately register FIRs in all these cases and conduct a comprehensive investigation. A thorough investigation should be conducted into the alleged criminal conspiracy of BJP and Janata Dal leaders,” he demanded.

Also read: EC SIR row: Situation demands INDIA-plus unity, says MA Baby about phone call with Mamata

“Such an act could not have happened without the knowledge of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The SIR process is the biggest fraud in the country and must be cancelled immediately,” he further alleged.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka.)