‘To tackle SIR, Congress holds 2-day training programme for MLAs, workers’: Minister Jarkiholi

BENGALURU: Public Works Minister Sathish Jarkiholi provided insights into the Congress party’s ongoing efforts regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the minister emphasised that party workers, MLAs and government representatives recently joined a two-day training workshop aimed at aligning their field operations in Karnataka.

Explaining the objective behind these internal deliberations, Jarkiholi said, “To tackle SIR, Congress workers, MLAs, the government joined in a 2-day training session. We discussed what we can do while going in the field. We are protesting against the diesel-petrol price rise on the 30th at the district level, and after that, it’s happening at the constituency level.”

#WATCH | Delhi | Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi says, “Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar will be in Delhi for a meeting to resolve the issues in the party…” pic.twitter.com/rV5SVi4yPr

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Meanwhile, on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar called for safeguarding of people’s voting rights in view of concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The DCM stated that the Booth Level Officer (BLO) must set aside party differences and cooperate in properly protecting everyone’s right to vote.

“No one should lose their right to vote. We must provide people with proper documents and safeguard their votes,” the DCM, who is also the KPCC president, said while speaking to reporters after participating in the event ‘Congress Nade, Mata Rakshane Kade’ (Congress March for Protection of Votes) organised by the KPCC in Devanahalli.

“Everyone must get rid of the notion that this is a mapping process. The enumeration forms issued by BLOs must be mandatorily filled out and submitted to election officers along with the required documents. Our workers will be trained for this purpose. BLOs must set aside party differences and cooperate in properly protecting everyone’s right to vote,” he appealed.

When asked whether they would protest against the SIR, he said, “Rather than protesting against the SIR, we will focus on spreading awareness about it.”

On Sunday, DK Shivakumar held a meeting with Congress leaders and workers over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in the state and said it was the government’s duty to create awareness among the public. DK Shivakumar warned that voters who fail to submit the required forms could lose their voting rights and access to government schemes.

Linking voting rights to welfare benefits, the Deputy CM said that the government must provide people with the necessary documents.

Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Phase-III across 16 States and three Union Territories, covering over 36 crore electors in a phased manner.

For the states of Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi, the qualifying date is October 1.The draft roll will be published on August 5, with claims and objections from August 5 to September 4. The notice phase and disposal will conclude on October 3, and the final electoral roll will be published on October 7. (ANI)