Bengaluru, July 2 (IANS) The Karnataka unit of the Janata Dal (Secular) on Thursday alleged that officials conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had violated Election Commission guidelines in Ramanagara by gathering residents at a community hall instead of conducting a door-to-door verification of voters. He urged the poll authorities to initiate strict action against those responsible.

In a statement shared by the office of Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, the party alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs), instead of conducting door-to-door verification of voters and distributing enumeration forms as mandated, had gathered residents at a community hall in Ward No. 23 of Tippu Nagar in Ramanagara Town Municipality.

“The Election Commission’s rules have been completely thrown to the wind in Ramanagara. Booth Level Officers, who are required to visit every household to verify voter details and distribute enumeration forms, have instead assembled everyone at a Kalyana Mantapa in Ward No. 23, Tippu Nagar, turning the exercise into an ‘SIR fair’. This is nothing but a mockery of democracy,” the JD(S) said.

The party further alleged that the officials had acted in violation of the Election Commission’s guidelines and demanded immediate intervention by the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, and the Election Commission of India.

“Strict action must be taken immediately against these corrupt officials who are violating election rules and acting arbitrarily,” the statement said.

The JD(S) also urged the Election Commission to act against such alleged illegalities and suspend the officials found responsible.

The allegations come amid the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls being carried out across Karnataka ahead of the upcoming elections.

The party has also shared a purported video that allegedly shows officials tasked with carrying out the door-to-door SIR exercise and distributing Enumeration Forms holding a convention-like event and conducting the voter revision exercise at a choultry in Ramanagara city.

It can be recalled that a BJP delegation, led by the Chamarajpet Mandal unit of the party, submitted a complaint to Chamarajpet Assembly constituency Electoral Registration Officer Gultaj Fatima on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters later, Bhaskar Rao said the SIR process had begun on Tuesday and alleged that a large number of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the Chamarajpet Assembly constituency had not reported for duty.

He further claimed that many BLOs lacked proper knowledge of their responsibilities. Rao alleged that the Congress party’s Booth Level Agent-2 (BLA-2) workers were accompanying BLOs while carrying the party’s election symbol and photographs of its candidates and distributing Enumeration Forms, which he said was improper.

He also alleged that in certain areas with a sizeable minority population, a disproportionately higher number of minority personnel had been deployed, describing it as a pre-planned move. Rao said the BJP had urged the election authorities to ensure proper briefing and deployment of officials.

–IANS

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