Bengaluru: Chief minister DK Shivakumar Thursday accused BJP and JD(S) of a criminal conspiracy to delete some 50 lakh eligible voters from the electoral rolls during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) and demanded that cases be registered against those involved.He urged Election Commission (EC) to register FIRs, identify everyone involved, arrest them and act against anyone who pressured BLOs. Failing this, he said the SIR should be scrapped.Addressing a news conference, he said pre-filled Form 7 applications were submitted to booth-level officers (BLOs) to remove voters largely belonging to minority communities, SCs, STs, backward classes and economically weaker sections. “This is a criminal conspiracy and a systematic attempt to create hatred and disturb communal harmony,” he said.He said 1.07 crore names were already excluded during SIR and notices issued to 45 lakh voters. Another 50 lakh deletions are now being attempted. Such attempts, he claimed, were being made across 70% of polling booths. He said the forms were submitted on Sept 22, 23 and 24 — just before the deadline ended for claims and objections.CM cited over 1,600 applications in Babaleshwar, 3,244 in Bhalki and 14,000 in Vijayapura, and said similar attempts were detected in Narasimharaja, Belagavi and other assembly constituencies.“Some Congress MLAs told me 8,000 applications were filed in Ballari City and 10,000 in Ballari Rural. In some constituencies, 5,000 to 10,000 voters were targeted,” he said, adding that a civil society group led by actor Prakash Raj had visited polling stations and gathered details.Displaying copies of Form 7 purportedly filed by BJP functionaries and cadre, Shivakumar read out names of those allegedly behind the exercise. “BJP workers submitted hundreds of such applications in their own names,” he said. In many cases, he said, district election officers (DEOs) rejected the forms, or BJP workers withdrew them, apologising for the mistake.“In some cases, those who submitted these forms do not even know who the voters are, and voters too were unaware of this. In others, signatures were forged and the DEO impersonated to get forms cleared,” he alleged.CM also asked who was supplying data to BJP. “I believe ECI has outsourced data to an agency with deep roots in BJP and RSS, which is facilitating leaks,” he alleged. He wanted to know where the pre-filled forms were printed and who was behind them. He questioned how this could happen without the CEO’s knowledge.“We have videos and documents showing BJP functionaries, on authorisation from central brass and in collusion with CEC, trying to mass delete names,” he alleged. He said the state had cooperated with EC and appointed 54,000 BLA-2 representatives. “Our govt is committed to protecting voting rights of every citizen,” he said.Minister MB Patil (Babaleshwar MLA) said BJP office-bearers and even a sitting corporator had facilitated the exercise. “In Vijayapura City alone, over 14,000 Form 7 applications were submitted,” he alleged. RDPR minister Eshwar Khandre (Bhalki) also cited instances from his own constituency.Meanwhile, food and civil supplies minister Rizwan Arshad sought suspension of Form 7 applications being processed in the current SIR, saying the huge number of forms filed by a handful of people indicates “syndicated bulk filing” rather than genuine individual objections.Arshad said, “A total of 29,360 Form 7 objections was filed between Aug 20 and Sep 24. And 94% of them were filed by private individuals.” Citing Bhalki and Babaleshwar where 4,726 objections were filed in three days and 87% target Muslim, minority and marginalised community voters, Arshad said just 24 individuals filed 2,894 objections.Reacting to the development, state BJP president BY Vijayendra defended the party’s Form 7 applications, saying it had every right to flag voters it suspected were illegally added to draft rolls. “Initially during the SIR, Muslim voters were pooled together in masjids and kalyana mantaps, officers were called to the spot and voters added,” he said. “There is a suspicion that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were added to the list. We flagged them. ECI will verify these applications and reject them if found false. What is the crime in this?” He said BJP functionaries will not be cowed by FIRs nor retract.
