Hubballi: Pralhad Joshi alleges violation of ECI guidelines in SIR
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has alleged that Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines were being violated in the
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has alleged that Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines were being violated in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the State and said that a BJP delegation would soon meet the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka on the issue. Speaking to press persons after participating in the SIR enumeration process at his residence in Hubballi on Saturday (July 4), Mr. Joshi likened the SIR process in the State to “mass copying” during examination.
Joshi alleged that enumeration forms were being filled collectively in mosques, community halls and other public places instead of through the prescribed door-to-door verification process. He said all documentary evidence about violation of ECI guidelines would be placed before the CEO during the meet. He said that already, photographs and videos of such violations were being circulated on social media and the BJP had already gathered sufficient evidence to place it before the CEO. The Minister said that the officials should work strictly according to the ECI guidelines and not yield to pressure from anybody.
All BLOs and officials engaged in SIR should compulsorily visit every household instead of conducting collective verification programmes, he said. Elaborating on the SIR process, Mr. Joshi said that they had never sought deletion or addition of voters based on religion. “Our only demand is that the electoral rolls should accurately reflect genuine voters,” he said, adding that the same procedure was followed during earlier SIRs. He also appealed to voters across Karnataka to extend full cooperation to BLOs visiting their homes and ensure that their names and particulars are correctly entered in the electoral rolls.
Earlier, Mr. Joshi along with his family members participated in the SIR process at his residence by submitting the required documents and details to the BLO in the presence of Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Snehal R. Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Arvind Bellad, Mahesh Tenginakai, MLA, and other BJP leaders were present.
The BriefWire