Published Jun 30, 2026 | 9:07 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 30, 2026 | 9:07 AM
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge.
Synopsis: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday, 30 May, said that the state Cabinet has raised serious concerns about opacity, arbitrariness and possible disenfranchisement in the current framework of the SIR of electoral rolls. He said the Cabinet supports a transparent, evidence-based revision of electoral rolls.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday, 30 May, said that the state Cabinet has raised serious concerns about opacity, arbitrariness and possible disenfranchisement in the current framework of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
He said the Cabinet supports a transparent, evidence-based revision of electoral rolls.
“The Cabinet has made it clear, Karnataka supports revision of electoral rolls, not subversion of electoral rolls,” he said in a post on X.
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Kharge said the Cabinet resolved that the ECI must fulfil a set of demands it had put forth before implementing the SIR in Karnataka.
They are:
1. Conduct a full independent review of the SIR process, including its legal basis, deletion criteria, supervisory structure, software systems and safeguards.
2. Extend the timeline for submission of Enumeration Forms to at least three months to avoid undue pressure on BLOs and the administration.
3. Publish a detailed manual explaining all discrepancy criteria, including “Logical Discrepancies”, algorithms/software logic, SOPs, responsible officials and required documents.
4. Ensure no voter is challenged or issued notice without prior BLO field verification, and minor spelling, clerical or transliteration errors are not treated as grounds for objection.
5. Guarantee that no existing voter is removed without notice, a hearing before an impartial authority and a speaking order.
6. Clarify the full list of admissible documents, reconsider the exclusion of Voter ID and Aadhaar, recognise Karnataka’s Kutumba ID wherever applicable, and ensure the burden of proof is not unfairly shifted to ordinary citizens.
7. Process valid Form-6 applications along with Form-7 objections and prevent bulk objections that may cause mass deletions.
8. Place machine-readable daily data on notices, additions, deletions and orders in the public domain.
9. Ensure no opaque AI tools are used, and all software for data entry, digitisation, mapping and verification is publicly disclosed and independently tested.
10. Clearly define the role of Special Roll Observers and Micro-Observers, while allowing EROs to perform their statutory duties independently.
11. Put special safeguards in place for women, migrant workers, slum dwellers, nomadic and denotified tribes, widows, persons with disabilities, orphans and transgender persons.
Pointing out the demands, Kharge said the ECI has yet to respond.
