Bengaluru: The Congress party in Karnataka on Thursday alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being used to remove eligible voters, accusing the BJP of attempting to disenfranchise its supporters ahead of future elections.

Addressing a press conference, KPCC Media and Communications Department Chairman and MLC Ramesh Babu said the party has already submitted several representations to the Election Commission over the issue.

Referring to information shared by Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar, Ramesh Babu claimed that nearly 20 per cent of the state's 5.40 crore voters were at risk of being deleted from the electoral rolls.

"Every vote deleted in Karnataka is the direct responsibility of the BJP. The SIR exercise is not merely an electoral roll revision. It is an attempt to remove Congress supporters from the voters' list," he alleged.

He said the Congress had urged the Election Commission to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded from the electoral rolls.

According to him, voters are being deleted on the grounds that they are absent, deceased, enrolled in multiple locations or have changed their address. He alleged that the percentage of voters proposed for deletion had increased from 15 per cent last week to 20 per cent this week.

Claiming that around one lakh voters in Bengaluru's K.R. Puram Assembly constituency had been marked as absent, Ramesh Babu alleged that names were being deleted without Booth Level Officers visiting households or distributing enumeration forms.

"More than one crore voters have been excluded in this manner," he claimed.

Questioning the Election Commission's figures, he said the Commission had claimed that 97.7 per cent of enumeration forms had been distributed.

"If that is the case, how can three to four per cent of voters still be treated as absent? Enumeration forms have not been distributed to people who have changed their residence or whose details do not match the 2002 electoral rolls," he alleged.

Ramesh Babu further claimed that when the SIR exercise began, the Election Commission had stated that 92 per cent of voter mapping had been completed outside Bengaluru. He alleged that, acting at the behest of the BJP-led Central government, more than one crore voters in Karnataka would eventually be removed from the electoral rolls.

Defending the Congress government's decision to issue residence certificates to eligible voters, he said the move was intended to protect their voting rights after the BJP criticised the initiative.

"The BJP's intention is clear. Since Congress secured around 43 per cent of the votes in the last Assembly election, they want to remove voters whom they believe support the Congress," he alleged.

He also accused senior BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka, BJP MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, of defending the Election Commission's actions.

"If eligible voters lose their voting rights in Karnataka, the BJP will be directly responsible. The Election Commission is functioning like a puppet of the BJP," he alleged.

Ramesh Babu said the Election Commission had failed to respond to several letters submitted by the Congress. He claimed that when the party sought clarifications, state election officials directed them to approach the Election Commission of India.

He also alleged that although officials had promised to establish voter assistance centres at every polling booth, the commitment had not been fulfilled.

Calling it a failure of the election machinery, he urged the Election Commission of India to intervene and extend the deadline for submission of enumeration forms by one month. He also demanded that the Commission prevent the deletion of 20 per cent of the state's voters.

"If necessary, we will challenge the process before the High Court," he said.

KPCC Graduates' Cell President Nataraj Gowda and former Bengaluru Mayor Ramachandrappa were also present at the press conference.

--IANS