Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 30 (ANI): A day after saying that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka was done “properly” in the state, State Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Friday said that his initial assessment was not correct, and that there are irregularities regarding voter deletions even in his constituency.
Jarkiholi said that he has not been pressured by the Congress high command to rescind his statement.
“”To clarify, my previous statement was not about the entire state. Many party members pointed out that while my assessment might be correct, similar irregularities in votes occurred elsewhere in Karnataka… Now, it has become clear to me that there have been irregularities here too, and this needs to be examined,” Jarkiholi told ANI.
Talking about his earlier remarks, Jarkiholi said that he was under the assumption that the deletion of voters in his constituency was accurate, but after hearing from others, he said that his previous statement was wrong.
“I initially thought the deletion of 17,000 votes in my area might be accurate, but after hearing from others… I realize the situation is different… My previous statement was limited to my own district; it did not pertain to the entire state,” Jarkiholi said.
Earlier today, Jarkiholi had said that his original statement had been ‘misinterpreted’.
In a statement on X, Jarkiholi said, “My statement given before the media regarding SIR has been misinterpreted.”
Clarifying his intent, he said, “Compared to other states, the BJP’s conspiracy to delete names of Congress-supporting voters from the electoral rolls in Karnataka through Form-7 has been foiled through the struggle of our national leader Shri Rahul Gandhi and under the guidance of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri D.K. Shivakumar — this was the intention of my statement. However, I did not make a statement in the sense that the SIR process is correct.”
Jarkiholi had received questions about his original statement from his own party members, with Minister Priyank Kharge too mentioning various cases of alleged illegal voter deletions.
“I’m not sure what information Jarkiholi has. For example, in Chittapur, in a single booth, 40 people were targeted who were from a single community, and that was investigated by the returning officers, and it was found that the pre-printed Form 7 was available in bulk. Nobody knew its origins. The person who had submitted the 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 that has its roots all over the place, and it’s centralised. We will get to the bottom of it,” Kharge said.
Jarkiholi’s clarification comes a day before the INDIA-bloc mega rally scheduled on November 1, which has also faced apprehension from traders’ body over the expected loss of revenue in peak festive season due to the high turnout expected. With 10 lakh people expected to attend, the traders body has said that a “lockdown” like situation could arise which could affect over 20 markets around the Ramlila maidan area. (ANI)
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