Thousands of voters belonging to religious minorities Christians and Muslims have been allegedly removed from electoral rolls in Karnataka, say Catholic leaders.
A delegation on behalf of Archdiocese of Bangalore on Tuesday, submitted a memorandum to the chief electoral officer (CEO), alleging that of the total number of 9,195 names in Shivajinagar constituency in Bengaluru, about 8,000 missing names include voters from the SC (Scheduled Caste), backward classes and the Muslim communities.
“It is unfathomable and unbelievable that out of 193 booths, 91 of them have been selectively picked up and the names that were under the voters’ lists those booths are deleted, where a large number of minorities reside in these pockets. The damage caused is improbable to be believed!” read the memorandum.
“We fear that many constituencies across the city would have been tampered and meddled with impunity. If such mischiefs are allowed to carry on unchecked, the confidence of the people in the electoral process will be destroyed and devastated beyond measure,” it said.
JA Kanthraj, PRO and Spokesperson, Archdiocese of Bangalore said that Rizwan Arshad, Congress MILA of the Shivajinagar Constituency, has written to them “informing the unethical and corrupt activities that are taking place after the Final Electoral Rolls for 2023 was released by the State Election Commission on the 15th of January, 2023.”
Kanthraj said that his name is also missing from the electoral roll in Koramangala.
Arshad filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court on Feb.9 alleging a political conspiracy to identify Christian and Muslim voters and deprive them of their voting rights.
