ECI Has No Accountability’: Karnataka May Move SC Over SIR, Says Minister Priyank Kharge.

‘Weaponised to Help BJP’: Priyank Kharge Slams SIR Process, Says Karnataka May Go to Supreme Court.

Karnataka May Explore Legal Options Over SIR, Cites Transparency Concerns: Priyank Kharge.

Bengaluru : -Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday that the state government may explore legal options against the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing unanswered questions and concerns over transparency. 

“We need very specific answers to our specific questions, and then only we will allow the SIR to happen,” Kharge told reporters, adding that the government was not opposed to revision but questioned the legal basis and methodology of the “special” exercise. 

‘No Accountability from ECI’.

Kharge launched a sharp attack on the poll body, alleging that the SIR was being “weaponised to ensure that the BJP wins elections.”He questioned the Election Commission’s immunity, asking: “Is he above the Constitution? No questions are being answered.” 

He also termed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “stooge of the BJP” and said the current SIR process was “undemocratic and unscientific” and risked disenfranchising voters over minor errors. 

Cabinet Discussions, Possible SC Move.

The Karnataka Cabinet held preliminary discussions on approaching the Supreme Court over the SIR process. Law Minister H K Patil said the petition would likely challenge the ECI’s legal immunity and seek directions to submit the final electoral roll to the Supreme Court to ensure transparency. 

“Any citizen of the state, country should not lose his right to vote for any reason, unnecessarily or deliberately,”Patil said, noting that 27 lakh voters lost voting rights in West Bengal during similar exercises. 

Concerns Over Voter Deletion.

Ministers and civil society groups have raised alarms over mass deletions during SIR in other states. Kharge said discrepancies like spelling mistakes “cannot decide citizenship”for people who have been voting for years. 

Civil society delegations that met CM Siddaramaiah termed the SIR “undemocratic” and urged the state to stop the exercise until the Supreme Court decides on its constitutional validity. 

SIR Timeline.

The ECI announced Phase-III of SIR covering Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, and Delhi. The draft roll will be published on August 5, with claims and objections till September 4, and the final roll on October 7.

A final decision on legal action is expected from the Karnataka government by early next week.