Karnataka BJP accuses Congress of running electoral roll revision inside mosques

Karnataka BJP chief B.Y. Vijayendra has accused the Congress government of misusing the Election Commission’s electoral roll revision process. Vijayendra alleged that booth officers are operating out of mosques and being used for party propaganda ahead of cabinet expansions

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP President and MLA, B.Y. Vijayendra, on Friday alleged that the Karnataka government was misusing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and conducting the exercise from mosques instead of following the Election Commission’s (EC) prescribed procedures.

Addressing a Press conference at the BJP headquarters, Jagannath Bhavan, in Bengaluru, B.Y. Vijayendra alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were being misused during the ongoing SIR process.

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“BLOs are being misused under the SIR exercise. Officials are being made to sit inside mosques to complete the SIR process. The state government is carrying out a conspiracy against Hindus,” B.Y. Vijayendra alleged.

He further claimed that in Sagar town in Shivamogga district, BLOs were being used for Congress party propaganda instead of carrying out their official duties.

“In Sagar, BLOs are being used for campaigning in favour of the Congress. The Chief Minister must immediately correct this,” Vijayendra claimed.

The BJP leader said the party had already lodged a complaint with the EC regarding alleged irregularities in the SIR process in areas such as Chamarajpet.

“We have submitted a complaint to the Election Commission regarding the confusion and irregularities taking place in areas like Chamarajpet in connection with the SIR exercise. We urge the Election Commission officials to rectify the situation,” he said.

Replying to a question on the delay in the Karnataka Cabinet expansion, Vijayendra alleged that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was deliberately citing the SIR exercise as a reason to postpone the expansion.

“The Chief Minister knows the reality that if the Cabinet is expanded, the very foundation of this government will be shaken. That is why he is using the SIR exercise as an excuse,” he claimed.

Vijayendra further alleged that six members of a single family belonging to the Halumatha community were brutally assaulted in Naregal in Hangal taluk. He further claimed that in Rattehalli in Hassan district, Shivaji Rao, a member of a poor Maratha family, was beaten to death in broad daylight. He also alleged that a physiotherapist was murdered in Chikkaballapur after falling victim to what he described as ‘love jihad.’

Criticising the state government, he alleged that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s ‘soft Hindutva’ approach, Home Minister Priyank Kharge’s policies, and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President B.K. Hariprasad’s alleged anti-Hindu stance and statements were emboldening communal elements.

His remarks come amid an intensifying political confrontation between the BJP and the ruling government over the implementation of the EC’s SIR of electoral rolls in Karnataka, with the Opposition alleging violations of guidelines and political interference in the exercise.