DK Shivakumar stages dharna at ECI office
Bengaluru witnessed a protest by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and his Cabinet colleagues outside the Election Commission of India (ECI) office on Thursday. The group accused the BJP of widespread misuse of Form 7 applications in Karnataka to delete voters from the electoral rolls. Shivakumar demanded an FIR and a swift, statewide investigation into the alleged abuse of the Form 7 process during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
He met the Chief Electoral Officer V Anbukkumar and presented a letter urging immediate action and an inquiry into specific cases.
The Chief Minister highlighted the filing of numerous Form 7 applications in various districts, including Mudigere (6,259), Belagavi North (3,000), Bhalki (2,285), Babaleshwar (1,373), and Narasimharaja (1,200). These applications were reportedly filed on September 22, 23, and 24. Shivakumar alleged that many victims of deletion belonged to minority communities, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and raised concerns about pre-printed voter names and EPIC numbers on the forms, suggesting potential electoral data misuse.
He demanded an investigation into individuals filing excessive objections, their relationship with the targeted voters, applications rejected by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and any political coordination behind the filings. Shivakumar asked the ECI to examine FIRs, available video evidence, and register cases if wrongdoing is proven. He emphasized that no eligible voter should be deprived of their right to remain on the electoral roll.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
