Awareness campaign against SIR flagged off in Shivamogga

‘Eddelu Karnataka’ (wake up Karnataka), a civil society collective, launched an awareness campaign against the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Saturday.

K.P. Sripal, an advocate, flagging off the march in Shivamogga, said that every citizen has the right to vote. Under the guise of the SIR, efforts are being made to deny people their right to vote. In West Bengal and other States, those whose names were deleted from the electoral rolls were predominantly minorities, Dalits and Adivasis, he alleged.

The campaign aims to create awareness about the SIR and how voters can protect their electoral rights. “Many voters have had their names deleted due to minor discrepancies in their Aadhaar cards. There have been efforts to single out political opponents so that their names can be deleted,” Mr. Sripal alleged.

Karnataka Raitha Sangha leader H.R. Basavarajappa, Eddel Karnataka representative K.L. Ashok, and others led the protest. The campaign would cover parts of Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Chitradurga, and Davangere districts.