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As Special Intensive Revision (SIR) commenced in Karnataka, state Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was functioning as "puppets" under political pressure from the Centre rather than acting independently.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge targeted the poll body for pushing ahead with the exercise without replying to the state Cabinet over their demands. "We have raised 12 objections to the way SIR is conducted. We were expecting the CEC to reply. Unfortunately, they have not responded. We will see what to do. The CEC and the Election Commission are puppets in the hands of the government. It is clear that the govt has no popular vote among the people, so they want to do these things," he said. Despite his objections, the revision exercise itself began as scheduled with Chief Minister DK Shivakumar launching the SIR of electoral rolls by filling out the enumeration form at his Sadashivanagar residence. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which commenced across the state, will continue till July 29. Karnataka Cabinet passed a resolution setting out conditions it wanted the ECI to fulfil before the exercise began in the state. The Cabinet asked the Commission to conduct a full independent review of the SIR process, including its legal basis, deletion criteria, supervisory structure, software systems and safeguards. The cabinet also wants ECI to extend the timeline for submission of Enumeration Forms to at least three months to avoid undue pressure on BLOs and the administration. It also demanded a detailed manual explaining every discrepancy criterion, including so-called "logical discrepancies," along with the underlying algorithms, software logic, SOPs and the officials responsible at each stage. Beyond this, the Cabinet sought firm protections for voters. That includes no challenge or notice without prior BLO field verification, no removal of minor spelling or clerical errors as grounds for objection, and no deletion of any existing voter without notice, a hearing before an impartial authority, and a speaking order. It also called for clarity on the full list of admissible documents, asked the Commission to reconsider excluding Voter ID and Aadhaar, sought recognition of Karnataka's own Kutumba ID, and demanded that the burden of proof not be unfairly shifted onto ordinary citizens. On the administrative process, the state Cabinet wanted valid Form-6 applications processed alongside Form-7 objections and to prevent bulk objections that may cause mass deletions. It also wants machine-readable daily data on notices, additions, deletions and orders made publicly available. It also wants the ECI to ensure no opaque AI tools are used, and all software for data entry, digitisation, mapping and verification is publicly disclosed and independently tested. Further, it sought a clear definition of the roles of Special Roll Observers and Micro-Observers, while ensuring Electoral Registration Officers retain the independence to carry out their statutory duties. The state Cabinet also called for special safeguards for several groups, including women, migrant workers, slum dwellers, nomadic and denotified tribes, widows, persons with disabilities, orphans and transgender persons. (ANI)
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