Extend claim deadline for SIR list: Karnataka CM to CEC

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday appealed to CEC Gyanesh Kumar to extend the period for claims and objections, following 1.08 crore people were placed in the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.

He said the period to file claims and objections should be long enough and stressed that no eligible citizen should be left out.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Kumar, the chief minister said that of the 5.54 crore electors in Karnataka, almost one in five has been placed in the ASDDO category. Following publication of the draft roll on August 24, verification notices are expected to be issued to roughly 43.8 lakh electors for “logical discrepancies” or absence of a link to the 2002 roll, Shivakumar said.

He added that in Bengaluru alone, 46.88 lakh electors have been placed under the ASDDO category. This translates into about 1.5 Crore voters in Karnataka facing deletion unless they submit their claims for continuation or fresh inclusion.

“A significant number of those categorised as absent may be genuine electors who could not submit their enumeration forms because they were away from home for work, health or other legitimate reasons when the BLO (Booth Level Officer) visited,” he pointed out.

Similarly, electors who moved to a different polling station were not given an opportunity to submit the enumeration form at their new residence during house-to-house visits by BLOs, while their names have been deleted from the roll in their previous address, he explained. In this connection, Shivakumar asked the CEC to extend the period for claims and objections.

“The claims and objections period should be sufficiently long to enable genuine electors whose names are absent from the draft roll, including those in the ASDDO category, to ascertain their status and file claims through Form 6,” he said. With no election due in Karnataka in the near future, such an extension is eminently feasible, he pointed out. He asked the CEC to direct the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to specifically instruct the District Election Officers to convene Ward Committee meetings in urban areas and Gram Sabhas in rural areas, with adequate advance publicity. The Chief Minister appealed to Kumar to provide adequate time for electors facing verification.

The proposed period of roughly 45 days for issuing notices and disposing of cases concerning “logical discrepancies” and the absence of a link to the 2002 roll is highly compressed.

“Giving an elector about a week to respond, followed by a second notice, may place an unreasonable burden on working people, migrants and the elderly, particularly where documents must be obtained, or travel is required,” Shivakumar contended.

According to the CM, a minimum of three to four weeks should therefore be provided to each elector to respond and furnish the necessary documents, ensuring a meaningful opportunity to establish eligibility before any adverse decision is taken. Shivakumar underlined that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) must protect the voting rights of every eligible citizen while ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the electoral roll.

“The Election Commission has the dual responsibility of preparing accurate electoral rolls and ensuring that no genuine and eligible voter is excluded. These objectives are not in conflict. With adequate time and proper processes, both can be achieved,” he said.

The State Government stood ready to provide all possible assistance, including mobilising the local administration for Gram Sabha and Ward Committee meetings, undertaking widespread publicity to reach affected voters, and providing any other coordination or logistical support required by the Commission, Shivakumar said. “The objective must be an electoral roll that the people of Karnataka can trust: one in which every eligible citizen is included, every ineligible entry is removed, and no citizen is deprived of the franchise merely for want of adequate time, information or opportunity to establish his or her eligibility,” Shivakumar said.