MADIKERI: Hundreds of villagers, mostly from tribal and backward communities, gathered at Palemadu in Murnad as actor and activist Prakash Raj heard their grievances over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Volunteers working with Raj, who had surveyed seven villages in the district, identified more than 600 voters flagged under the Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead or Others (ASDDO) list ahead of the programme. The villagers raised several concerns, including technical errors and bureaucratic oversights.
Residents said some voters had been wrongly categorised as permanently shifted or dead, while others faced spelling errors and missing documents due to a lack of permanent shelter.
Many displaced daily wage labourers and estate workers said they were forced to frequently move between estate line houses due to landlord exploitation, making it difficult to produce proof of residence. “When the government has not provided us permanent shelter or land, how can we produce the required documents?” asked a resident.
Residents also pointed out errors in the process. Hussain, a Palemadu resident, said his twin sons received official notices questioning their eligibility because their age difference was less than nine months.
Community leaders and Adivasi residents said that despite holding government issued tribal certificates proving their nativity, they faced the possibility of losing their voting rights. “Alongside fighting for our land, we now have to fight for our voting rights,” stated Pushpa, a Murnad resident.
Addressing the gathering, Prakash Raj condemned the SIR initiative, calling it unconstitutional and claiming that it targets marginalised groups. “SIR must be withdrawn completely,” he demanded, alleging that the exercise disproportionately disenfranchises Muslim, Christian and Adivasi communities.
He said 1.08 crore voters across Karnataka had been flagged under the ASDDO list, while over 13 crore voters nationwide faced similar uncertainties.
Raj said he had collected field data from across the state over the past 10 days and would submit a detailed report at the Vidhana Soudha and present the findings at a conference in New Delhi on October 1. “The factual data collected from the villagers will be presented at Vidhana Soudha and representatives from across other states will present the loopholes concerning SIR at the New Delhi meeting,” he confirmed.
Demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Raj assured the crowd that activists would fight to ensure no legitimate citizen was stripped of their vote.
SDPI district president Amin Mohsin, Aam Aadmi Party representative Bojappa Swami and Dalit leader D.S. Nirvanappa were present at the meeting.
