Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has charged the Election Commission with acting as a “puppet” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging involvement in the manipulation of votes. This allegation surfaced during a Congress-led protest on Saturday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. During his address, Shivakumar called upon President Droupadi Murmu to take action against the Commission, demanding its dissolution and the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside the annulment of elections he claimed were “illegally held.”

Reports indicate that the Karnataka Congress had gathered substantial support at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, where participants carried placards and voiced slogans against the Election Commission. Among those present were key figures such as former Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and Veerappa Moily. They, along with other Congress leaders, condemned the actions of the Election Commission and called for Kumar’s resignation.

Shivakumar stated that the SIR process has led to the removal or reclassification of numerous voter entries, suggesting that the Commission was intentionally targeting the names of impoverished voters and critics of the administration. He expressed concern that the autonomy granted to the Election Commission under the Constitution was being compromised.

Allegations of Discrepancies in Voter Registration

The Chief Minister asserted that Karnataka has a population of approximately seven crore, with 5.54 crore registered voters, but claimed that the draft electoral rolls published following the SIR included only 4.46 crore names. He highlighted a significant discrepancy, stating that nearly 30 to 40 lakh people received notices regarding issues in the electoral rolls. The Election Commission had categorised 1.08 crore voters under headings such as Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, and Others, with notices issued to 43.81 lakh voters among the draft roll names.

Shivakumar emphasised the importance of voter rights, arguing that voting is a fundamental opportunity enshrined in the Constitution. He pledged that the Congress party would vehemently resist any infringement upon this right and vowed to expand their anti-SIR campaign to every village across Karnataka.

The objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi regarding various procedural changes were reported, including those pertaining to statutory voter registration Form 6 and oversight over the electoral roll database. However, the Election Commission has countered these claims, affirming that all decisions related to the SIR had received unanimous approval from the entire commission.

Calls for Accountability and Safeguarding Democracy

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah highlighted the need for immediate measures against Gyanesh Kumar, urging for a criminal investigation into the Commission’s actions. He claimed that a lack of independence in the Commission threatens the very fabric of democracy. Siddaramaiah further stressed that the President, as the custodian of the Constitution, should intervene if any irregularities by the Commission were verified.

Siddaramaiah’s remarks reflected broader concerns that the Election Commission should remain impartial and not favour any government or political entity. He articulated the need for the integrity of the electoral process to be upheld, stating that if proven true, the allegations against the Election Commissioner warranted his resignation.

In addition, Karnataka Congress President B K Hariprasad echoed similar sentiments, labelling the actions of the Election Commission as detrimental to democracy itself. He noted that instances of voter deletions were not isolated to Karnataka alone but were also seen in states like Bihar, West Bengal, Haryana, and Maharashtra. Hariprasad insisted that the Congress would escalate its protests at the district level starting from Monday to draw attention to the perceived threats against voter rights.

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