Mangaluru : Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta on Tuesday warned police against intimidating or harassing BJP workers involved in the SIR process, saying the party would not remain silent if such incidents continued.
Chowta told a news conference that electoral roll purification was a crucial constitutional and nation-building exercise. BJP workers serving as booth-level agents (BLAs) should be allowed to perform their duties without harassment or administrative interference, he said.
or BLA-2 representatives, to assist, state govt was trying to intimidate them and obstruct their work, he alleged Although Election Commission allowed political parties to appoint booth-level agents.
Chowta said SIR was a regular process to maintain accurate voter records by removing deceased voters, updating entries of relocated citizens and eliminating duplicate names. He accused Congress of creating doubts about constitutional institutions and fuelling social unrest. He alleged that the party used the Constitution for political theatrics while disregarding Supreme Court, Election Commission , Parliament and local authorities.
Let them not create confusion among voters,” Responding to complaints over BJP’s submission of Form 7, Chowta said filing it did not automatically delete voters’ names. Omitted voters could reapply using Form 6, he said, accusing Congress of politicising and communalising SIR. Chowta also said Brahmarakootlu toll gate on Mangaluru-Bengaluru NH-75 was likely to be removed after new toll booths became operational between BC Road and Shiradi and at Punjalkatte.
Challenging Congress and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi to substantiate claims that eligible voters were being illegally removed from electoral rolls, Chowta said: “The Congress and Rahul Gandhi should produce even one person, whose name was deleted from the electoral roll, and provide documents to substantiate their allegations. “I have submitted a letter and the Centre has responded favourably regarding this,” he said. It raised an objection, following which the electoral registration officer conducted verification before taking action.