Earlier, Shivakumar had called for a comprehensive investigation, including a criminal probe, into the alleged misuse of Form 7. He said Congress leaders had provided documents concerning cases in which applications were allegedly filed fraudulently in their constituencies.
“There is a need for a comprehensive investigation and a criminal probe within the framework of law into this matter,” Shivakumar said.
He alleged that the issue was not restricted to a few constituencies, citing the constituencies of sitting and former legislators, including Minister Eshwar Khandre’s Bhalki and Mudigere.
“If this is happening in the constituencies of our MLAs, it indicates that a major conspiracy is taking place across the state,” he alleged.
“As your chief minister, as a public servant, I’m trying to protect your votes, but I feel have failed. I have to accept this,” he said.
Shivakumar urged Booth Level Agents, BLA-2s, legislators, party workers and voters to share information about Form 7 applications allegedly submitted to delete their names or those of other voters with his office.
The allegations come amid wider concerns in Karnataka over Form 7 applications during the SIR exercise. Food and civil supplies minister Rizwan Arshad separately alleged that thousands of such applications had been filed in bulk and sought action from the chief electoral officer.
The SIR process in Karnataka covers more than 5.54 crore electors, while 1.08 crore voters had earlier been placed in the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others category, according to figures cited by Shivakumar in August.
