Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 6 : Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka V Anbukumar reassured voters across the state that no names have been removed from the electoral roll merely on the basis of objections received, adding that due legal procedure was being strictly followed.
Addressing the media, CEO Anbukumar on Monday clarified the procedure for dealing with Form 7, which is used to raise objections to names included in the voter list. He said that every Form 7 carries a declaration that must be signed by the objector or applicant under Section 31, and that any concerns regarding the authenticity of such declarations would be dealt with by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in accordance with the law.
"The issue is that every Form 7 has a declaration. The declaration, as per Section 31, is signed by the objector or the applicant. So, if that is in question, the ERO has to take necessary action as per law. That has been communicated to the EROs, and they will take action. Once any action has been taken, we will communicate it to you," Anbukumar said.
Reiterating that voter lists will not be altered arbitrarily, the Chief Electoral Officer stated, "The only thing, again, I would like to convey to all the voters of Karnataka is that just because someone has filed an objection, we have not deleted any name so far. This has been confirmed by the EROs in today's video conference as well."
Explaining the statutory mechanism required before removing any entry, Anbukumar cited the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
"To delete any name from the draft roll, the ERO has to issue a notice for a hearing. He has to call both the objector and the voter for the hearing. He has to verify the documents. After that, he can take a decision once he is convinced whether to delete the name or not. So, that is the procedure mentioned in the rules under Sections 16 to 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960," he said.
"No name has been deleted so far. I have written to all the EROs very clearly to take necessary action if, after an inquiry, they are convinced that action is needed. They will take action as per law once they complete the inquiry," the CEO added.
His statement came after an NDA delegation - comprising Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders - met him in Bengaluru to submit a formal complaint against the Government of Karnataka, accusing it of "unlawfully, unduly interfering and influencing" the process of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).