Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said he and all Congress MLAs would travel to Delhi to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that one crore voters had been removed from the state’s electoral lists without verification.
The chief minister also sought to distinguish the Congress’s plans from those of the protest organisers. “They are protesting in their own way. We do not want to stop them. He singled out Dalits, minorities and backward communities, saying their electoral participation needed particular protection. “How many names have been deleted in Karnataka? You have deleted the names of one crore people without any verification. As the chief minister of a state, belonging to the party that brought independence to the country, it is our duty to protect the voting rights of all people. It is especially important to protect the voting rights of Dalits, minorities and backward communities. Erasing their votes, especially for political purposes, is inhumane. This is not democracy; it is a dictatorship.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Shivakumar said he had instructed all Congress MLAs to be in Delhi to defend voters’ rights. The party would organise its own campaign rather than join the protest organised by other groups, he said, adding that the Congress did not intend to mobilise a large crowd. He said the party had not been consulted about the demonstration but would not try to stop it. Some members of the INDIA alliance were participating in the protest, he said, and were entitled to do so. The Congress party will protest in its own way,” he said, adding that the party did not want to interfere in the organisers’ plans. Shivakumar alleged that one crore names had been deleted from Karnataka’s electoral rolls without verification and said the state Congress had a responsibility to protect the voting rights of all citizens. We will fight against this and organise our people,” he said.
I have instructed all our MLAs to be in Delhi. We do not want a large number of people to go. Our MLAs will be in Delhi. I am also going to Delhi. We will fight for the rights of voters. Our hope is that the rights of every voter in the country should be protected and they should get the right to vote. “The Prime Minister should answer whether there is democracy or an emergency in the country.
We cannot delete the names of voters from the list,” he said. Let us give him time,” he said. “Tomorrow (Monday), we will fight in our own way.
