Bengaluru, Oct 1 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar, and his Cabinet colleagues on Thursday submitted a representation to State Chief Electoral Officer Anbukumar, urging him to register a case against those allegedly involved in a conspiracy to delete genuine voters belonging to minority communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes from the electoral rolls, through pre-filled Form 7 applications.
CM Shivakumar visited the office of the State Election Commission in Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, and submitted the representation to Anbukumar.
CM Shivakumar alleged that pre-filled details were being used through Form 7 to seek the deletion of names of legitimate voters belonging to minority communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, from the electoral rolls. He urged the Chief Electoral Officer to initiate legal action and register cases against those involved in the alleged conspiracy.
KPCC President B.K. Hariprasad, Ministers Priyank Kharge, S.S. Mallikarjun, Eshwar Khandre and M.B. Patil, BDA chairman N.A. Haris, former Legislative Council Chairman V.R. Sudarshan and others were present on the occasion.
CM Shivakumar in his letter to CEO Anbukumar stated, “As the Chief Minister of Karnataka it is my bounden duty to protect the rights of every eligible water in a state and to ensure that the electoral revision process is conducted in a free, fair transparent and legally compliant manner. No eligible citizen, irrespective of religion, caste, community or social background, should be deprived of the right to remain on the electoral roll.
“I am given to understand that a large number of Form 7 objections seeking deletion of names from the electoral rolls have been filed in bulk, particularly during the last few days of the claims and objections period, including on 22nd 23rd and 24th September.
“The scale and manner of the filings are a matter of serious concern. For instance it has been reported that approximately 3,000 Form 7 applications were filed in Belgavi North Assembly Constituency, 6,259 in Mudigere Constituency, 1,373 in Babaleshwar Constituency, 1,200 in Narasimha Raj Constituency and 2,285 in Bhalki Constituency, besides a similarly large number in other constituencies.”
The representation highlighted several concerns over the filing of Form 7 applications seeking deletion of voters from electoral rolls.
It stated that a large number of Form 7 applications appeared to have been filed in bulk within a short period, particularly during the final days of the prescribed period. It also alleged that a disproportionate number of voters proposed for deletion belonged to minority communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, warranting immediate verification.
The representation further pointed out that in several cases, voters’ names, EPIC numbers and other particulars appeared to have been pre-printed on Form 7 applications, with only the objector’s details subsequently filled in. It sought an enquiry into how such electoral data was accessed and used.
It also sought verification of cases involving individuals filing unusually large numbers of objections and their reported political affiliations.
The representation referred to public statements allegedly made by defeated BJP candidate Ravi B. Patil regarding Form 7 applications filed through his associates and sought collection and examination of relevant applications and video footage.
It requested a time-bound investigation, constituency-wise analysis of Form 7 filings, verification of the source and misuse of voter data, and examination of whether political organisations or individuals coordinated the filings. It also sought immediate registration of FIRs and appropriate criminal action against those responsible.
–IANS
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