Hosapete: Actor and activist Prakash Raj on Thursday alleged that an attempt was being made to delete the names of around 21,000 Muslim voters in Karnataka through Form 7 applications during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking in Hosapete during his 10-day SIR Pratirodha Pravaasa (SIR Resistance Tour), Raj alleged that Form 7 was being misused to target voters and defined it as ‘Operation Kamala through form 7.’
He referred to an incident in Belagavi where, he said, 200 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names were submitted at one booth.
“All the 200 names were of Muslims,” he said.
Raj said the names and voter details to be deleted were printed, while the name and phone number of the person seeking deletion were handwritten. When the Booth Level Officers questioned those who submitted the forms, they said that they had come from the corporation, he said.
“By then our people had reached. The forms had come from a local BJP leader who had contested the Assembly election. He said they had been received from ‘above’. All the forms carried the signature of one person, a local BJP activist, who later said he did not know about them,” Raj said.
“Throughout Karnataka, the Chaddis are putting effort to delete the names of 21,000 Muslims through Form 7,” he alleged.
Prakash Raj also called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and made a further reference to a “duo” stepping down.
Raj said his team would collect complaints and evidence from polling booths during the tour and asked voters to record discrepancies on their phones and share them with the team and on social media.
The investigation report with proof would be compiled into a report on September 30, which would then be revealed during a press conference and then submitted to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and his ministers, he said.
Raj also questioned the number of Form 8 applications and new voters added to the electoral rolls in Karnataka. Referring to figures attributed to the Chief Electoral Officer, he said around 40 lakh Form 8 applications had been received in Karnataka and 11 lakh new voters had been added before SIR.
“How did 40 lakh people suddenly realise that their details or addresses had to be corrected? And how did 11 lakh new voters come into the rolls? Who are they?” he asked, seeking an explanation from Karnataka CEO V Anbukkumar.
Linking the SIR exercise to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Raj said even the deletion of 10 to 15 names in a booth could make a difference. He also asserted that 13 crore voters had been deleted during the SIR exercise across the country.
“Don’t be scared. If you are affected, tell us. We are with you,” Raj assured.
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