Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president B.K. Hariprasad on Tuesday (June 23) cautioned the party’s Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to be extremely vigilant during the forthcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from defeating the purposes of the Constitution.

Speaking after inaugurating a divisional-level convention of Congress BLAs here, Mr. Hariprasad alleged that the BJP and RSS have hatched a conspiracy to deny voting rights to genuine electors. While the victory margin between the BJP and the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal was about 37 lakh, voting rights of 27 lakh people were kept in suspension by labelling them suspicious during the SIR, he stated.

Mr. Hariprasad said it was unfortunate that people who do not believe in democracy and the Constitution and who do not respect the national flag were ruling the country. In such a situation, the BLAs play a critical role to ensure no genuine voter was left out of the rolls. They should visit every household along with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) deputed by the ECI and help voters submit documents sought by the officials. Alleging that the BJP and RSS have the mission of building a Hindu Rashtra, Mr. Hariprasad charged that they would exclude voters from tribal, Dalit and minority communities from the electoral rolls to fullfill their objective.

In his address, Congress SIR Awareness State Committee president V.R. Sudarshan said protecting the rights of electors would strengthen the democracy. BLAs and other leaders have the onerous responsibility of ensuring no genuine voter was left out of the rolls during the SIR.

He said former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar have already directed officials to ensure genuine voters were not left out of the rolls. Alleging that the BJP was conspiring to exclude Congress voters from the rolls, Mr. Sudarshan said the party was misusing the ECI to accomplish its mission.

Mr. Sudarshan also said that no one should become a BLA for namesake; only those who can spare their time and visit voters along with BLOs may enroll as agents.

Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader, MLC and KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary, Ivan D’Souza, MLC, former Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake and others were present.