BJP and JDS Delegation Complain to Election Commission Over Karnataka's SIR Process

The political slugfest over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Karnataka has intensified. A BJP and JDS delegation reached the Election Commission of India (ECI) office on Tuesday to complain about glitches and delays in the process. The delegation was led by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. Pralhad Joshi said that the BJP delegation told the Election Commission that the SIR process in Karnataka is not going according to the guidelines of the Election Commission. He said that the Commission's instructions are that every booth level officer should do door-to-door verification. It is mandatory to visit every house at least 3 times. He alleged that complaints have been received from many areas of Karnataka that the process is being carried out through mosques, madrasas, dargahs, houses of some local Congress leaders, besides mutawallis and maulanas. The BJP says that such an arrangement raises questions on the fairness and transparency of the process. According to them, it has become like a mass house-to-house verification form. The SIR process does not really exist in every household. Its purpose is to verify the status of the voter.