Congress leaders have accused Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal of trying to influence the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls by using staff of a cooperative that he manages.

Congress leader M.C. Mulla and others told reporters in Vijayapura on Sunday that Mr. Yatnal, who has been expelled from BJP, has deputed four-five staff members of the Siddasiri Cooperative Bank to prepare a list of voters, including Muslims, in Vijayapura city who are not likely to vote for him.

“These people have already started going around the 35 wards that are part of the Vijayapura City Assembly seat. They are giving such lists to Booth Level Officers and other ECI staff who are deleting names of eligible voters from the electoral rolls fearing the wrath of the MLA,” he said.

He demanded that the district administration take serious note of it and initiate action against Mr. Yatnal and his staff who are involved in such an act.

“This action is against the spirit of the Constitution and needs to be stopped immediately. All deletions should be reversed,” he said.

“The job of these staff is to find out voters who are possibly not voting for Mr. Yatnal, mainly Muslims. They are doing it using human intelligence and talking to the local residents. After visiting wards and talking to locals, these staff collect details and forward them to the BLOs who are appointed for SIR duty,” he claimed.

Mr. Mulla again claimed that he and his associates recently caught one such person in Ward no 24 of the city where he was collecting details of voters.

“When we inquired, we found that the person was a staff of Siddasiri bank and not a government employee. He was collecting details. Knowing that, the people got enraged and were on the verge of assaulting him. But others interfered and rescued him. We have reported it to the district administration,” he said.

He said that a few of the BLOs told him that some staff members of the Siddasiri bank are pressuring the BLOs to remove names of particular persons.

Mr. Mulla also appealed to the general public to be wary of such unofficial people who are collecting data.

“Whenever any person comes to seek details of your family, ask for his identity. If you feel suspicious about him, then immediately call the police and hand him over to them. Do not share any data with private persons,” he said.

On Mr. Yatnal appealing to Hindu students to wear saffron shawl while going to school to oppose students wearing hijab as permitted by the Congress government, Mr. Mulla asked Yatnal to start a campaign first in his own educational institutions itself.

Responding to Mr. Yatnal’s call for Hindu students to wear saffron shawls to schools, if hijab is allowed, Mr. Mulla said that he will ask Mr. Yatnal to start this practice in his own educational institutions.

“Before preaching to others, he should start it in his schools. We will come to know how many parents will agree to this,” Mr. Mulla said.

Congress leaders Fayaz Kaladagi and Mahadev Ravaji were present.