BJP-JD(S) Leaders Flag ‘False FIRs’ Over Form-7 Objections, Meet Governor

The political row over Karnataka’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls intensified on Tuesday, with an NDA delegation alleging government interference and police intimidation, even as police registered a case over 136 allegedly forged Form-7 applications seeking deletion of voters’ names.

The BJP-JD(S) delegation, comprising Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, R Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and sought his intervention against what it called misuse of police machinery against people filing Form-7 objections.

The leaders maintained that filing such objections was a statutory right and alleged that BJP workers and supporters were being targeted with serious offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They referred to cases registered in Bhalki, Belagavi, Bengaluru, Ballari and Mysuru and urged the Governor to prevent “false and unwarranted” criminal cases.

However, a separate case registered on October 5 at Yashwanthpura police station has provided a contrasting account. It followed a complaint by Congress leader Anoop Iyengar against BLA-2 Deepak Singh over 136 Form-7 applications allegedly carrying forged signatures at polling station No. 68 in Subedar Palya.

The complaint alleged that the applications sought deletion of voters on grounds that they were absent or had permanently shifted, and that discrepancies were found between signatures on the forms and those of the purported applicants. It further alleged a conspiracy to submit applications in bulk, potentially targeting voters of a particular community.

The FIR invokes BNS provisions relating to cheating by personation, forgery, use of forged documents, criminal conspiracy and furnishing false information. While the complainant alleged Singh was affiliated with the BJP, the FIR does not specify any political affiliation.

The NDA also criticised the October 1 protest led by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and ministers outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.