News Desk: Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi has clarified his earlier remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying his statement was "misinterpreted". His clarification came a day after the BJP used his comments to target Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the party's opposition to the voter-list revision exercise.
In a statement posted on Friday, Jarkiholi said he had not endorsed the SIR process itself. Instead, he was referring to the Congress party's efforts to prevent the alleged removal of eligible voters' names from electoral rolls in Karnataka through Form 7.
The minister said the party had successfully resisted attempts to delete the names of Congress-supporting voters, with the efforts led by Rahul Gandhi and supported by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
He further explained that his comments were about how Karnataka had handled the issue compared with other states, including West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar. He insisted that he had never suggested that the SIR process was entirely correct or valid.
The controversy began on Wednesday when Jarkiholi spoke to reporters about the voter-list revision exercise. He said the SIR conducted in Karnataka had been carried out properly because of protests and awareness efforts by the Congress party.
He also defended the removal of nearly one crore names from the state's electoral rolls, stating that the deletions involved voters who had died, shifted residence or appeared more than once on the list.
The BJP quickly seized on his remarks, accusing Congress leaders of contradicting Rahul Gandhi's position on SIR. In a post on social media, the party said Jarkiholi's comments showed that even Congress leaders recognised the importance of maintaining clean and accurate electoral rolls.
However, in his latest clarification, Jarkiholi strongly rejected the BJP's interpretation. He said the Congress had successfully prevented attempts to remove eligible voters through Form 7, adding that the resistance had started in Belagavi district.
He also reiterated his opposition to any attempt to illegally delete genuine voters' names and said protecting democratic values and the right to vote remained his priority.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission published Karnataka's final electoral rolls on Tuesday following the revision exercise. The state now has approximately 4.55 crore registered voters, compared with 5.54 crore before the revision. This represents a reduction of around 99.32 lakh names.
The minister's clarification has added another political dimension to the ongoing debate over SIR, with the Congress and BJP continuing to exchange accusations over the process and its impact on voters' rights.
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