Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre Says SIR Has Paralysed Governance, Delayed Local Body Polls
Khandre said the SIR exercise should have been limited to removing the names of deceased voters, those who had changed their addresses and those enrolled at more than one place, as was done during earlier electoral roll revisions.
Bengaluru: Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar B Khandre on Saturday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had severely disrupted the country's administrative machinery, affecting the functioning of government schools and offices and delaying elections to rural local bodies in the state.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said schoolteachers and government employees had been engaged in SIR-related work for nearly six months, affecting regular teaching in government schools and the disposal of files in government offices.
Asked about the delay in elections to rural local bodies, he said the polls were being postponed as the final electoral rolls were not available because of the SIR exercise.
"In a democracy, every individual has the right to vote. Voters are demanding their right. Can elections be held by leaving them out?" he asked.
Khandre said the SIR exercise should have been limited to removing the names of deceased voters, those who had changed their addresses and those enrolled at more than one place, as was done during earlier electoral roll revisions.
Khandre said the process was causing grave injustice even to eligible voters. Congress leaders were fighting against the exercise, and the matter was also being heard by the Supreme Court, he added.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of phone tapping, Khandre said the Congress leader was fighting for the truth and would not make such allegations without a basis. Rahul Gandhi had earlier also raised his voice over the Pegasus spyware issue, but the Union government had adopted a repressive approach, he alleged.