Bengaluru, Aug. 18: “The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted in various states, including Karnataka, is not merely a process of revising electoral rolls. It is a ‘Nazi-Fascist project’ aimed at disenfranchising voters and implementing the NRC through the backdoor. It is being driven by political leaders who are behaving in a fascist manner,” said senior retired IAS officer M.G. Devasahayam, who has studied the SIR process in this special interview to Kannada daily, Vartabharati.

M.G. Devasahayam, a retired IAS officer and member of the Constitution Conduct Group, has extensive experience in electoral processes and the electoral reforms required in the country. He also played an important role in bringing to light issues related to alleged vote manipulation and vote theft during the 2024 elections. In an exclusive interview with Vartha Bharathi, he spoke about the SIR process being conducted in Karnataka and several other states.

Interviewer: What is the reason for such a large number of voters being deleted during the SIR process in Karnataka? Is the problem with the process itself or with the very concept behind SIR?

Devasahayam: “SIR is a fraud on the democratic process. The way it has been designed itself is not an honest process. The Election Commission has not properly designed an SIR in accordance with the rules, regulations and constitutional provisions. According to information revealed through the RTI, SIR was not decided upon by the Election Commission of India itself.

“They have openly said, ‘We did not decide this.’ If that is the case, perhaps political leaders such as the Home Minister decided it and imposed it on the Election Commission of India. In my opinion, the Chief Election Commissioner is someone who can easily succumb to political pressure, while the other two Election Commissioners exist only in name.

“Normally, all three are IAS officers. We know how IAS officers function. We know how a scheme is formulated, how its structure is designed and how it is subsequently implemented. SIR has not been properly designed, nor has its structure been properly worked out. It is now being implemented hurriedly and in an extremely improper manner.

“They wanted to bring the NRC—the National Register of Citizens. There were massive protests against it, so they had to withdraw it.

“There are two objectives behind conducting SIR. One is to implement the NRC through the backdoor using the Election Commission. The second is to disenfranchise people. Who are likely to be disenfranchised? Those who are not organised, minorities and people who do not have documents.

“Therefore, the entire process has been conducted in an extremely improper and bizarre manner. The objective is to disenfranchise as many people as possible who are less likely to vote for the ruling party and to implement the NRC through the backdoor.”

Interviewer: So, did they begin this process without framing any proper rules? Is the mapping under SIR constitutionally valid?

Devasahayam: “Yes. That is why there is complete confusion everywhere. Instead of adding voters, the process is resulting in people being excluded from the electoral rolls. Whenever any programme designed for the people is implemented, it must be practicable and capable of being implemented effectively.

“Do you have to link it to what happened in 2002–03? They are asking whether you were there in 2002, whether your parents were there, and to establish a relationship based on that. That was 23 years ago. How can this be done practically?

“For example, I am now 85 years old. I moved from Tamil Nadu to Bengaluru four years ago. Since I am no longer in Tamil Nadu, my name has been removed from the electoral roll there. But nobody here has contacted me. How am I supposed to prove where I was in 2002? I was in Chennai in 2002, and my parents are no longer alive. They died before 2003. Therefore, this mapping is a questionable process.

“Coming to the constitutional aspect, the Constitution guarantees universal adult suffrage. It must be an inclusive process. Every citizen who is eligible to vote must be included in the electoral roll. The right to vote is also a fundamental right and a human right. If there is serious doubt about whether someone is a citizen and it is proven that the person is not an Indian citizen by birth or through any other means, only then can that person be excluded from the electoral roll.

“Otherwise, I am an Indian citizen. I was born here about 85 years ago. I have been living here. I am an Indian citizen. Why should I have to prove it? What should I show to prove it? Since I am an educated person, I may have some certificates. But millions and crores of people do not have certificates. They do not have school certificates, degree certificates or other documents.

“This is a rotten fascist-Nazi project.”

“Another problem is that the entire process has been left completely in the hands of government officials. BLOs are lower-level government staff. The entire process has been placed in their hands. It has reached a stage where an Anganwadi worker is expected to determine whether you are a citizen or not, and whether you are a voter or not.

“The role of higher-level officials has been reduced to a mere formality. The entire process has been turned into a completely bureaucratic exercise. Shouldn’t there be verification and auditing for such a massive process? Even ordinary small-scale activities are subject to verification and audits. So, for such a huge process, there should be a social audit, as we suggested right from the beginning.

“Social audits are conducted at gram panchayats and ward levels in cities. People themselves should come together. The draft electoral roll should be placed before them. They know who is there and who is not.

“Who is best placed to know who lives in a village and who its citizens are? It is the people of that village. Therefore, a Gram Sabha should be convened. The draft electoral roll should be read out and the people should be asked, ‘This is the list we have prepared. Is it correct?’

“They may say, ‘This person does not live here; they have moved elsewhere.’ Then that person can be removed. At the same time, they may say, ‘This person has been living here for many years, but their name is not on the list.’ Then that person can be added.

“After that, the panchayat should sign off on it in an open meeting. Once it is approved, it should become the final electoral roll.”

Interviewer: But where do these BLOs go? Do they visit apartments?

Devasahayam: “For example, they have still not come to my apartment. There are about 90 homes in my apartment complex. I was told that the BLO came to the manager, sat there for a short while and left. But I did not receive an enumeration form. Now they may have deleted my name from the electoral roll or may not have included me. Across the country, more than 5–6 crore people have already been removed.

“I believe that around one crore people in Karnataka will be left out of the draft electoral roll.

“Now the question is: What kind of process should we call this? I believe even the Supreme Court approved this without properly understanding the issue. This rotten process should be stopped immediately and rejected completely. I do not even want to discuss this any further.”

Interviewer: In this situation, what would you like to tell the Karnataka government and the people?

Devasahayam: “After seeing the chaos in Bihar, West Bengal and other states, we expected that this would come to Karnataka as well. Therefore, we had taken precautionary measures. I was guiding people from civil society. I told them to demand a social audit. Karnataka is a suitable state for conducting a social audit because it has a strong tradition in the Panchayati Raj system.

“On the other hand, Karnataka also has a State Election Commission. Just like the Election Commission, it can also play a role in preparing a proper and credible electoral roll. Therefore, the process should be initiated through the State Election Commission, involving panchayats and ward committees. A proper social audit should be conducted through them.

“That would give people confidence. No one should be left out of the electoral roll. People should have the confidence that their vote exists. If someone has been removed, it must be ensured that it was done for a genuine and justifiable reason.

“We held a series of discussions with political leaders on this issue because political parties should have been involved. We had a meeting with the Deputy Chief Minister. He is now the Chief Minister. All of them said, ‘Yes, it is a good suggestion. We will do it.’

“In some villages, it was even implemented on a trial basis. A note was also prepared. But before taking the final decision, they said, ‘We have to get permission from the high command.’

“One of them went to Delhi with this proposal. But the high command sabotaged it. The Congress high command office is filled with RSS elements. I do not want to name them. Some of the people surrounding Rahul Gandhi are RSS agents. They immediately sabotaged the proposal. My allegation is that they have joined hands with the RSS to disenfranchise as many voters as possible.

“If the state governments had been given the freedom to take an independent decision, they might have done it. They could have passed a resolution and even amended the process to make social audits mandatory. But according to the information I have, the high command sabotaged it.

“The Congress is behaving very strangely on this issue. They too have joined hands with RSS elements. They have not put up any strong resistance on this issue. Their approach is one of verbal opposition but inaction in practice.

“As a result, lakhs and crores of people in Karnataka too are going to be deprived of their right to vote. This is not democracy. This is a fraud being carried out in the name of democracy. That is the reality.

“Civil society has done whatever it could. But political parties have abandoned the people in the worst possible manner. Whatever happens, civil society organisations must not abandon the people. They must continue to put pressure on the Congress government. Sooner or later, all of this will come to light.”

(The original of this interview was published in Kannada by Vartabharati. The original may be read here.)

Related:

‘Forum for Electoral Integrity’ petitions NHRC over mass voter disenfranchisement under SIR

The Bihar Verdict 2025: How an election was engineered before votes were cast

Civil society warns, Election Commission is “Undermining Democracy”

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