Karnataka Minister to raise 'Form 7 misuse' in SIR row
The row over alleged large-scale deletions from Karnataka's electoral rolls is set to intensify as Minister Rizwan Arshad announced he will submit a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka. The memorandum will highlight what the minister described as "misuse of Form 7" to target thousands of voters for removal from the voter list. Form 7, which allows objections to voter entries, has become the focal point of allegations that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Karnataka was being manipulated to disenfranchise large sections of the electorate.
Civil society groups and opposition leaders have repeatedly warned that mass applications filed under Form 7 are disproportionately affecting minority and marginalised communities, raising concerns about fairness and transparency in the revision exercise. Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Arshad is expected to demand immediate corrective measures from the Election Commission, including stricter scrutiny of Form 7 applications and safeguards to prevent deletion of valid voters from the roll. He represents the Shivajinagar constituency in Bengaluru Urban district.
The development comes amid allegations that a few people applied for mass deletion of voters in various constituencies across the state. Karnataka Congress president B K Hariprasad said that attempts were made to delete genuine voters in constituencies including Bableshwar, Bhalki, Mudigere, and Malleshwaram, among others. In some constituencies, various individuals withdrew Form 7s after officials threatened legal action for submitting them fraudulently.
