BJP MLA Abhay Patil said on October 2 that his party sought scrutiny of electoral rolls, not deletion of names. He denied allegations that BJP workers violated rules while submitting objections. Patil claimed they only reported suspect voters to officials, adding, "In any case, we have only sought scrutiny."
BJP leaders in Belagavi stated that they had not violated any rule when they submitted third-party objections using Form 7 during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Karnataka, being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
"We believe that we have not violated any rule. However, if during scrutiny of our applications, officials conclude that we have made any mistake, let them reject our applications," Abhay Patil, MLA and BJP leader, told reporters on October 2.
He denied allegations that BJP's Booth Level Agents had violated rules regarding submission of third-party objections to inclusion of names.
"Congress leaders are accusing us of targeting Muslim voters. That is false. We have not targetted anyone. Our ground-level workers have noticed every suspect voter, and reported them to the respective BLAs. They have objected to the inclusion of dead, shifted, absent, duplicate and other suspect voters," Mr. Patil said.
He alleged that a large number of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in Belagavi were illegally included as voters at the instance of local Congress leaders. "We demand that such ineligible electors be weeded out. We are compiling a list of such voters in the district. We will release it soon," he said.
SIR: 'Big conspiracy' in Karnataka? D.K. Shivakumar alleges misuse of Form-7
Big conspiracy underway in Karnataka, many pre-printed Form-7s being supplied to BJP, JD(S) leaders with intention to delete eligible voters: Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar flagging issues with SIR in the state. | Video Credit: The Hindu
"Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has alleged that our party cadre have submitted bulk objections. That is not true. Our BLAs have signed all the objections. Our party cadre may have carried them to the BLOs," the MLA said.
"Congress leaders are saying that we have crossed the upper limit for filing objections per day. If that is so, let the officers scrutinise only those numbers that are valid, and reject the rest," he said. "In any case, we have only sought scrutiny, and not deletion."
"Congress leaders have alleged that BJP cadre had forged the signature of a Congress worker and submitted the forms. My response to this is: are we such fools," Mr. Patil said.
He accused the CM of trying to protect ineligible voters and illegal aliens in the voter list. "That is why, he is asking all BLOs to stop scrutiny and survey of ineligible voters," he said.
"Mr. Shivakumar has falsely claimed that I have gone to SIR officers and admitted my mistake. That is false and baseless. The CM should be ashamed of uttering such a blatant lie," Mr. Patil said.
Anil Benake, former MLA, denied allegations that the bulk objections filed in Belagavi North constituency were in violation of norms.
"Just because our objection applications were printed out, we are facing allegations of accessing the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) database of the ECI. This is not true. We have done no such thing. We have based our objections on ground surveys," Mr. Benake said.
He denied allegations of BJP workers having threatened SIR officers.
"On the contrary, Congress workers have threatened our BLAs and BJP workers who visited the booths to submit objection forms. Some Congress workers forcefully snatched Form 7s from us and took them to the CM. Why was that done? They should have been left with the BLOs. What is more, Aman Sait, son of Congress MLA Asif Raju Sait, took these forms to the CM. Who is Aman Sait? Is he a BLA? We seek legal action against him," he said.
"Allegations that our workers impersonated the ERO Uday Kumar Talwar are false. Congress is levelling false allegations and filing false cases against us. All the FIRs that have been filed across Karnataka on this issue are based on provisions of the BNS, and not election-related laws. That is nothing but a technique to harass and coerce BJP workers," Mr. Benake said.
He alleged that over 80% of the BLOs in Belagavi North constituency are from the Muslim community. "We complained against this to the District Election Officer Mohammad Roshan, but he didn't address the issue," he said.