A day after the BJP used his reported statement on (Special Intensive Revision) SIR to attack the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi has clarified that his statement on the voter list revision was “misinterpreted”.
Amid Congress’ stiff opposition to SIR, Satish Jarkiholi’s earlier statement was seen as an endorsement of the exercise carried out in the state.
I did not, however, imply that the ‘SIR’ process itself is correct or valid,” the minister clarified in a post on Friday. “The statement I made to the media concerning ‘SIR’ has been misinterpreted. This was achieved through the efforts of our national leader, Shri Rahul Gandhi, and under the guidance of the Honorable Chief Minister, Shri DK Shivakumar. Karnataka Cabinet Minister Satish Jarkiholi defended Karnataka’s SIR process, justifying deletions of nearly one crore names, citing duplicate, deceased and relocated voters.
Because of our (Congress) protests and training, read | Congress Minister Defends SIR Deletions In Karnataka, BJP Jabs Rahul Gandhi “The SIR in Karnataka was done in the right manner. My point was that the BJP’s conspiracy-to remove the names of Congress-supporting voters from the electoral rolls in Karnataka using ‘Form-7’ (a tactic observed in other states as well)-was successfully thwarted.
We argue that it should happen in the same manner in other states,” he said. When questioned about the removal of nearly one crore voters from the electoral rolls in the state, the minister said, “Yes, these are voters who shifted, died or were duplicates. In a post on X, the BJP said, “Congress leaders are increasingly contradicting Rahul Gandhi’s anti-SIR stand.
Amid Congress’ stiff opposition to SIR undertaken by the Election Commission, Jarkiholi’s earlier statement was seen as an endorsement of the exercise carried out in the state.
