Went to safeguard voters, not stage dharna: Karnataka Chief Minister

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday clarified that he and others, including Ministers, did not stage a dharna at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), but had gone there to safeguard voters whose names were proposed for deletion under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

“I cannot place demands before Constitutional bodies, I can only make requests. Therefore, I went there to make an appeal in connection with Form-7 and the deletion of voters under SIR. Let a case be filed against me if I have done anything wrong, as claimed by the BJP leaders,” he told reporters in Periyapatna.

Responding to the BJP leaders’ allegations over his move at the CEC office, Mr. Shivakumar said he and his Cabinet colleagues had waited for the officials to arrive and did not stage any dharna as being alleged.

“The officers sought two days’ time to look into our complaint. However, we wanted immediate action and therefore waited there. Accordingly, they assured us that the complaints would be examined,” he said.