Kharge questions SIR process, alleges errors in voter verification

Kalaburagi AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has questioned the manner in which the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being conducted, alleging that the exercise is causing hardship to sections of voters across the country. Speaking in Kalaburagi, Kharge said the government was committing “many mistakes” in the SIR process and questioned what had happened to the earlier system of electoral verification. Kharge said he had convened a meeting of leaders of 20 parties of the INDIA bloc to seek their views on the SIR exercise. According to him, the leaders who attended the meeting expressed the view that the manner in which the revision was being carried out was not in the country's interest. He alleged that the names of poor people, daily-wage workers, illiterate persons and minorities were being removed from electoral rolls during the exercise. “How can free and fair elections be held if 500 votes are removed from every polling booth?” Kharge questioned. He also alleged that BJP and RSS workers were filling up forms in wards, gram panchayats and villages where they wanted to influence the electoral process. Kharge further said that India had witnessed several generations of democratic governments, including those led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, but alleged that such a situation had not occurred during their tenure. His remarks come amid an ongoing political debate over the SIR of electoral rolls, with opposition parties raising concerns over voter deletions and the Election Commission maintaining that the exercise is aimed at ensuring accurate and updated electoral rolls.