Jarkiholi clarifies SIR remarks, says he never endorsed voter roll revision

Bengaluru, Oct 30 : Karnataka Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Friday clarified his remarks defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying his comments had been misinterpreted and did not amount to an endorsement of the exercise.

In a video statement posted on X, Jarkiholi said his earlier remarks were intended to highlight how alleged attempts by the BJP to delete names of Congress-supporting voters through Form 7 applications had been thwarted in Karnataka through the political campaign led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the state leadership.

He maintained that he had not supported the SIR process, but was referring to the alleged failure of efforts to remove eligible voters from the electoral rolls.

"Compared to other states, the BJP's conspiracy to delete names of Congress-supporting voters from the electoral rolls in Karnataka through Form-7 has been foiled through the struggle of our national leader Shri Rahul Gandhi and under the guidance of Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri D K Shivakumar. This was the intention of my statement. However, I did not make a statement in the sense that the SIR process is correct," he said.

The clarification comes a day after his remarks appeared to support the SIR exercise, triggering unease within the Congress. On Thursday, Jarkiholi had said Karnataka had conducted the revision properly and suggested that other states, including West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar, follow its example.

He had also defended the deletion of around one crore names from electoral rolls in other states, arguing that the entries related to deceased, shifted and duplicate voters.

His comments drew a response from Home Minister Priyank Kharge, who questioned the claim that the exercise had been conducted without serious irregularities in Karnataka.

Kharge had cited alleged manipulation of Form 7 applications in Chittapur, claiming that 40 voters belonging to a single community were targeted at one polling booth. He alleged that bulk pre-printed applications had surfaced without clarity about their source and that even the person who submitted them was unaware of the reasons for seeking deletion of the voters' names.

"The person who had submitted the Form 7 did not know why he had done that, and all they said was, 'It's come from the top'," Kharge had said, alleging a centralised conspiracy.

He had also assured that the state government would investigate the matter and establish the facts behind the alleged irregularities.

Seeking to end the controversy, Jarkiholi reiterated that he had consistently opposed any illegal attempt to remove eligible voters from electoral rolls and that his position was rooted in protecting democratic rights.

"My stand against any attempt to snatch away the rights of eligible voters has been firm from the beginning. I strongly oppose attempts to illegally remove names of eligible voters from the voters' list," he said.

The clarification comes ahead of the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally, with the Congress seeking to maintain a united stand against the BJP over its allegations concerning electoral roll revision.