Multi-lingual actor-turned-activist Prakash Raj has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extend the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the State by six months
“The State has another two years before the next Assembly elections. Hence, the SIR should be conducted systematically, leaving no scope for discrepancies. In West Bengal, SIR was carried out in a hurry as elections were approaching. But the situation is different in Karnataka. There is no need to hurry,” he told reporters in Dharwad on Sunday
Mr. Raj said that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have not completed the enumeration process properly, as per the ECI’s directions
He pointed to several shortcomings in the distribution and collection of enumeration forms by displaying some documents
He demanded that voters who have already exercised their franchise in the previous elections should not be required to apply afresh through Form 6 that is meant for new enrolment
“Many people have claimed that BLOs did not visit their houses. According to the State Election Commission, over 60 lakh people have been marked as having shifted, while several lakh have been recorded as deceased. How is this possible when these people have exercised their franchise in the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections?” he said
“Why should people pay the price for the inefficiency of BLOs and their senior officials?” he said
“To address these anomalies, the ECI should provide all voters whose names are missing from the electoral rolls ample opportunities to verify and restore their names on the list,” he said
He said that people will stage a demonstration in Bengaluru on Tuesday to bring the issue to the attention of the State Election Commission and demand that the SIR exercise be extended by another six months
Mr. Raj said that drought in several parts of the State has forced many to migrate to other States and cities in search of employment
“Excluding such people from the electoral rolls will amount to further injustice,” he said
