Bengaluru: In Karnataka, during the SIR exercise, cases have been registered against two BJP MLAs for allegedly preparing fake applications and removing thousands of names from the voter list.
The special voter revision work in Karnataka has reached its final stage. Complaints have emerged that fake Form 7 applications (the document used to remove names) were distributed in places including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi, Bidar, Mangaluru, and Ballari, and that thousands of names were removed from the voter list.
Congress leaders have alleged that the names of thousands of people, especially those belonging to the SC, ST, minority, and other backward classes, were deliberately removed. Condemning this, Congress workers have launched a continuous campaign protest under the leadership of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Case registered against BJP members
Mirsaab Sanadi, who is working as a polling booth-level agent at Veerabhadra Urdu Model School in Belagavi district, filed a police complaint alleging that 198 Muslims from the Belagavi North constituency were sought to be removed by submitting fake 'Form-7' applications by Ravi Patil and others from the BJP. Following an investigation, Belagavi police registered a case against 25 people, including BJP functionary Ravi Patil.
Meanwhile, in the Bidar constituency, cases have been registered against 32 BJP workers for allegedly filing 3,244 fake Form 7 applications and attempting to remove voters’ names. Similarly, a complaint was filed that Srinivas Motkur, who serves as a polling booth-level agent in Bellary, prepared 7,651 fake Form 7 applications and removed voters’ names.
It is said that Srinivas Motkur deliberately removed the names of 7,651 people belonging to Scheduled Caste and minority communities from the voter list. Following this, Bellary police registered a case against him under two sections.
A case has been registered against 12 BJP members for allegedly threatening Udayakumar Basavanthappa, who works as a booth-level agent in Mysuru, to remove Muslim names.
Case registered against BJP MLAs
Meanwhile, Anup Iyengar, who contested from the Malleshwaram constituency on behalf of the Congress in the last election, alleged, “Deepak Singh, who worked as a booth-level agent in Ward 13 in Malleshwaram, acted in support of BJP MLA Suresh Kumar. He distributed fake Form 7 applications given by Sureshkumar to 136 people and removed their names.”
Following this, based on the complaint filed by Anup Iyengar at the Malleswaram police station, the police registered a case against BJP MLA Sureshkumar, booth-level agent Deepak Singh, and four others.
Similarly, former MLA of the Jayanagar constituency, Soumya Reddy, filed a complaint with the police stating, “In areas under the Jayanagar constituency, BJP MLA Ramamurthy, along with his supporters Ganesh, Arjun, and four others, distributed 5,698 Form 7 applications and removed the names of minority voters.” Based on this, cases have been registered against BJP MLA Ramamurthy, his supporters Ganesh, Arjun, and four others.
Complaint to the Governor:
Meanwhile, Union Minister and JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy, along with Karnataka BJP president Vijayendra and senior BJP leaders, met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and lodged a complaint.
Later, Kumaraswamy said, “In the SIR issue, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is acting with political malice. He is misusing his power to file cases against BJP members. We have appealed to the Governor that action should be taken against D.K. Shivakumar for misleading the police department,” he said.