Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Friday leveled serious charges against the Karnataka government in Bengaluru, alleging a concerted effort to issue illicit birth and residence certificates through cyber centres, primarily targeting illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for electoral gain. She urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to intervene immediately.
Speaking at the BJP state headquarters, Jagannath Bhavan, Karandlaje asserted that the issuance of these unlawful birth certificates had surged since the commencement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She directly linked the Chief Minister's stated intention to provide permanent residence certificates to an attempt to legitimize illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and individuals from regions where the SIR exercise had not taken place. “Those born and living here already have homes and are on electoral rolls; they do not require such certificates,” she stated.
The Union Minister claimed this scheme served a singular purpose: to manipulate future election outcomes. She specifically cited the proposed Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) elections, alleging a "systematic conspiracy" to add illegal voters, particularly from a specific community, thereby prioritizing minority voters over the majority. Karandlaje questioned, "Does this government no longer require the votes of the majority community?"
Karandlaje also highlighted significant irregularities within the SIR process itself. She stated that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were conducting the revision improperly, gathering people in groups without adequate training, neglecting proper mapping, and merely dropping enumeration forms at residences instead of following established procedures. She further alleged BLOs faced undue pressure.
The Minister suggested that for years, minority leaders had facilitated the entry of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants into Karnataka, and current efforts aimed to regularize them as residents and voters. She called upon Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to halt these "illegal practices" and ensure the electoral process adheres strictly to the law, emphasizing the need for swift ECI intervention.
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đź“° Source: Mangalorean News