Venugopal Accuses ECI of Silence on Opposition Concerns Over Karnataka SIR
K.C. Venugopal accused the Election Commission of ignoring Opposition concerns, citing large-scale deletions during Karnataka's Special Intensive Revision.
All India Congress Committee general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of India of failing to respond to the concerns and questions raised by Opposition parties, linking his charge to the large-scale deletion of names from Karnataka's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Speaking to presspersons after a party meeting on the SIR exercise, Mr. Venugopal said the removal of about 23% of names in Karnataka had taken the party by surprise. He said the Commission had not been answering Opposition questions for the past three to four years, and argued that the deletions could not be described as natural. He alleged that the exercise was being carried out deliberately and that the Commission was trying to conceal something, adding that several of the party's petitions had been dismissed — a situation he said was unprecedented in the country's history.
Citing figures from the exercise, he said that of 5.54 crore voters in Karnataka, 1.07 crore had been deleted, while notices had been issued to 43 lakh people. He warned that these voters too could face deletion. The party, he added, hoped the Karnataka government would act against those indulging in illegalities during the SIR.
Mr. Venugopal framed the ongoing political contest as one that went beyond a direct clash between the BJP and Opposition parties. He said the fight was between the BJP, which he alleged was using the CBI, the ED, the Income Tax department and the Election Commission, and the Opposition.
The Congress leader also participated in a meeting with newly appointed district presidents. He said the appointments were part of 'Sanghatan Srujan', a decision taken at the Congress Working Committee meeting in Belagavi. The new district presidents were given guidance on their future course of work and will be evaluated after six months, he said. Those who perform well will be retained, while those who fail in their responsibilities will be replaced.