Cong Won't Do Politics Over SIR, Only Wants Genuine Voters Not Excluded: Siddaramaiah

(MENAFN- IANS) Belagavi (Karnataka), Jan 19 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress would never indulge in politics over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process being carried out by the Election Commission, but its only concern was to ensure that genuine voters were not excluded from the electoral rolls.

He was speaking to reporters in Belagavi.

Responding to reports that nearly three crore voters in the state had not been mapped as part of the SIR process being undertaken by the Election Commission, the Chief Minister said the exercise must be carried out with utmost caution.

He said booth-level officers (BLOs) had been instructed to ensure that no voter was subjected to injustice during the process.

Responding to allegations by MLA Janardhana Reddy that the Chief Minister and ministers were looting the state, Siddaramaiah said Janardhana Reddy himself had gone to jail after looting the state's resources and that the case was still pending before the Supreme Court.

“He has no moral authority to make such allegations. The Opposition is busy making false accusations and misleading the public,” he said.

He added that the Legislative Assembly session would begin on January 22 and asked the Opposition to raise issues and hold discussions on the floor of the House.

Replying to a question on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute coming up for hearing before the Supreme Court, Siddaramaiah said the Karnataka government's legal team was prepared to argue against the petition filed by the Maharashtra government.

He said Karnataka's primary question was whether Maharashtra had the jurisdiction to file a petition regarding the state's borders, and that this issue must be resolved first.

On the demand for conducting municipal elections using ballot papers, the Chief Minister said the government was also of the view that local body elections should be held using ballot papers.

Reacting to the Governor returning the sub-quota Bill, Siddaramaiah said appropriate explanations would be provided to the questions raised by the Governor regarding the Bill.

Replying to a query on his proposed visit to New Delhi, the Chief Minister said he would travel to the national capital if called by the party high command.

MENAFN19012026000231011071ID1110619421