Karnataka CM Ensures Voter Registration During SIR Exercise

BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said he instructed all district in-charge ministers and the deputy commissioners to compulsorily visit every taluk, guide booth-level officers (BLOs) and establish contact with booth-level agents (BLAs) of any political party to ensure that people are not stripped of their voting rights during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) -- a nationwide exercise by the Election Commission of India to clean up electoral lists. “Right now, what they (Election Commission) call mapping is restricted only to officials. They might have mapping figures like 90%, 98%, 97%, or 86%, but that doesn’t count for us,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of DCs, SPs, DFOs and secretariat officers at Vidhana Soudha. SIR is set to begin in Karnataka on June 20. “If any voter — including DK Shivakumar or any minister sitting here — wants to protect their vote, they must compulsorily fill out enumeration forms and applications provided by the BLO. Only then will their vote be saved. BLOs will visit people’s doorsteps three times, and if they find the house locked or the person missing, they will report it. Otherwise, they will put it up on the notice board. If anyone is working outside the state their documents should be collected, their signatures obtained and submitted,” he added. The CM said he instructed officials that everyone must be given a residential certificate. “Whoever does not have a residential certificate, I have told officials to issue it. This is because if you don’t have the right to vote in the future, it will cause problems for the heads of households in receiving the benefits of the five guarantees, pensions, and other government benefits. If they don’t keep their vote, they won’t get any benefits,” he cautioned.