Bengaluru, Oct 29 (PTI) Amid Congress' stiff opposition to SIR undertaken by the Election Commission, party leader and Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi has made a statement seen as an endorsement of the exercise carried out in the state.
The opposition BJP in Karnataka on Thursday latched onto his comments to target the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
"What we are talking about is not (SIR that was done) in Karnataka, but elsewhere like West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar," Jarkiholi told reporters on Wednesday when asked about Congress' protests against SIR.
"The SIR in Karnataka was done in the right manner because of our (Congress) protests and training. We argue that it should happen in the same manner in other states," he further said.
When questioned about the removal of nearly one crore voters from the electoral rolls in the state, the Minister said, "Yes, these are voters who shifted, died or were duplicates."
After the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Election Commission on Tuesday published the final electoral rolls, listing 4.55 crore electors in the state, down from 5.54 crore before the revision, marking a decline of 99.32 lakh voters.
Sharing the Minister's statement video, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra said on Thursday that Rahul Gandhi's campaign against SIR is turning into a classic case of sour grapes.
"The irony is hard to miss! Senior Congress leader and Minister Satish Jarkiholi himself contradicts Rahul Gandhi's narrative and acknowledges the validity of the SIR process, leaving Congress's allegations crumbling from within," he posted on 'X'.
Unable to realise his dream of becoming prime minister, Rahul Gandhi seems determined to blame the democratic process rather than introspect on his repeated electoral failures, he further said, "When your own party leaders refuse to toe your line, perhaps the problem lies with your narrative, not the system."
However, state Home Minister Priyank Kharge said he was not sure what information Jarkiholi had based his statement on.
"I'm not sure what information Jarkiholi has. For example, in Chittapur (in Kalaburagi), in a single booth, 40 people from a single community were targeted. This was investigated by the returning officers (RO), and it was found that the pre-printed Form 7 was available in bulk. Nobody knew its origins," he said.
"The person who had submitted Form 7 did not know why he had done that, and all they said was, It's come from the top. So that's a very clear indication that this is a conspiracy with roots all over the place, and it's centralised. We will get to the bottom of it," he told reporters on Thursday.
Stating that he also has information on what happened in Vijayapura, Kharge further said, "More than 40-50 people had been declared dead, and Form 7s were submitted. They have gone and complained to the DC over there, saying --We are not dead; we are alive. So all these things have happened. So I'm not sure what information Jarkiholi has. I'm basing my statements on things that have happened in Kalaburagi and elsewhere in the state."
