Bengaluru, 29 June

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday said the state government was not opposed to the SIR of electoral rolls but urged the Election Commission to first respond to Congress' objections, alleging that voters should not be removed without due legal process.

As the SIR process is set to begin from Tuesday, the Minister said the state Cabinet had submitted eight objections to the Chief Election Commissioner and sought clarity on issues such as 'logical discrepancy', legal notices, speaking orders and access to tribunals before deleting names from the electoral rolls.

"We are not saying that the SIR should not be conducted. Voter roll revision is compulsory, and it is the right of the Election Commission. More importantly, it is their responsibility to provide a clean and accurate voter list," Kharge told reporters.

He said the Congress had also submitted its objections to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, but had not received any response.

"You (ECI) cannot deprive a person of their voting rights merely because of a spelling mistake," he said.

He added that the party wanted the Election Commission to answer its queries before commencing the exercise.

Kharge said the Congress would continue its public awareness campaign while also exploring legal options.

Questioning the reported use of artificial intelligence in the revision process, he asked who had audited the software and how it functioned.

Referring to the deletion of around 8.9 million voters elsewhere, he alleged that affected voters had not been given an opportunity to approach a tribunal.

On the proposed land acquisition for the AI township in Bidadi near Bengaluru, Kharge asserted that no farmer could be compelled to part with land.

"Nobody can force farmers to sell their land. We have never tried to do that, nor will we," he said.

The minister said land would only be acquired with the consent of landowners in accordance with the law.

Responding to BJP criticism over backwardness in the Kalyana Karnataka region, he said the Congress government had allocated Rs 5,000 crore for the region and accused the previous BJP government of "failing" to make comparable investments.

Speaking about the non-implementation of Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin), which the Centre brought in replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Kharge accused the Centre of unconstitutionally shifting 40 per cent of the financial burden of the rural employment guarantee scheme on states without consultation and said Karnataka was considering legal action on the issue.