SIR row: Karnataka Congress announces protests, seeks Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, arrest
Bengaluru: The Congress in Karnataka will hold a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Saturday demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, KPCC President B.K. Hariprasad said on Friday.
He also announced that similar protests would be held in all districts in the second phase demanding the resignation and arrest of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and invited political parties that believe in democracy to join the agitation.
Addressing a press conference, Hariprasad alleged that decisions related to the SIR process had been taken unilaterally despite objections from the other two Election Commissioners. He referred to media reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions taken during the revision exercise.
He alleged that Gyanesh Kumar had rejected differences of opinion raised by the other two Election Commissioners and proceeded with decisions concerning the electoral roll revision. He also alleged that Form 6 was modified despite objections from the two Election Commissioners.
Hariprasad stated that the SIR exercise had resulted in the deletion of 63 lakh voters in Bihar, 91 lakh in West Bengal and 1.07 crore in Karnataka. He said that the process would adversely affect the voting rights of minorities, Dalits and Economically Weaker Sections.
He said the Congress had already raised concerns over the issue and alleged that the Election Commission had failed to adequately respond to them.
The KPCC president said he had 65,000 applications relating to deleted voter names and claimed that several of them did not carry signatures. He said the party’s examination of the applications showed that a large proportion of the deleted names belonged to minority and Dalit communities.
Hariprasad alleged that attempts to delete voters’ names had taken place in Babaleshwar and Hubballi-Dharwad. He maintained that the errors were not in the electoral rolls themselves but in the SIR process being conducted by the Election Commission.
He also criticised the BJP for defending the Election Commission when questions were being raised about its functioning.
“When we question the Election Commission, the Commission itself should answer. But it is the BJP leaders who are responding,” he said.
Hariprasad further demanded a comprehensive and independent review of the SIR process and said the Congress would continue its protests against the exercise.
He alleged that the actions of the Election Commission amounted to undermining the Constitution and democratic institutions and demanded that Gyanesh Kumar step down from his post.
The Election Commission previously claimed that differing views and observations among its commissioners are part of its internal deliberations and that decisions are taken through the prescribed institutional process.