Anbukumar
Bengaluru: Amid allegations that BJP and JD(S) workers were attempting bulk deletions of thousands of names in the ongoing special intensive review (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka , chief electoral officer V Anbukkumar Monday said not a single name has been removed through Form 7.
Karnataka received 91,278 such applications between June 16 and Oct 4, up from 58,220 till Sept 23, when the claims-and-objections phase ended. The CEO said these would be processed before Oct 22, with the last hearing on Oct 12. He said he learnt of the bulk filings 7-10 days ago and asked officials to act. He said the hearing process was expected to be completed by Oct 13, ahead of the ECI deadline.
After nearly six hours of consultations, Anbukkumar said he took cognisance in writing of the bulk applications and ordered an inquiry into false statements. “The seven-day notice period is pending,” he said. On a breakup of self deletions and objections, he said: “We don’t have a breakup. Asked whether pre-printed forms were allowed, as in several constituencies where objectors only filled in details by hand, he said the matter needed examination and it was difficult to comment on something sub judice. Over 40 lakh notices have been delivered so far to electors under the “no mapping” and “anomalies” categories. At the request of recognised parties, the lists of such electors have been published on the CEO’s website as demanded by political parties, Kumar said. Voters need not visit electoral registration officers (EROs) for hearings during the ongoing SIR unless the officer considers their presence necessary, Kumar said.
None was an objection to proposed inclusion. No FIR has been filed by EROs. The FIRs so far were filed by private individuals under the BNS and are sub judice. He did not say within how many days an ERO should issue notices after learning of mass deletion attempts. After completion of the SIR, final electoral rolls would be provided to seven political parties in digital format without photographs and in physical copies containing photographs.