‘21,000 Muslim names may be deleted’: Indian actor Prakash Raj flags electoral roll manipulation

Actor and rights activist Prakash Raj has alleged that Form 7 applications are being misused during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka in an attempt to remove the names of around 21,000 Muslim voters.

According to Maktoob, Raj made the allegation on Thursday while speaking in Hosapete during his 10-day SIR Resistance Tour. He described the alleged use of Form 7, which is used to seek deletion of names from electoral rolls, as “Operation Kamala through Form 7.”

Raj cited an incident in Belagavi where, he claimed, 200 Form 7 applications seeking voter deletions were submitted at a single polling booth. He alleged that all 200 voters named in the applications were Muslims.

According to Raj, the voter names and other details on the forms had been printed, while the name and phone number of the person seeking the deletions were handwritten. He said Booth Level Officers questioned the people who submitted the applications, who allegedly claimed they had come from the corporation.

Raj further alleged that the forms had originated from a local BJP leader who had contested an Assembly election and said they had been received from “above”. He also claimed that all the forms carried the signature of a local BJP activist, who later said he was unaware of the applications.

“Throughout Karnataka, the Chaddis are putting effort to delete the names of 21,000 Muslims through Form 7,” Raj alleged.

Raj said his team would collect complaints and evidence from polling booths during the tour. He urged voters who find discrepancies in the electoral rolls to document them on their phones and share the material with his team and on social media.

He said the material collected would be compiled into an investigation report by September 30. According to Raj, the report and supporting evidence would then be presented at a press conference before being submitted to Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and his ministers.

The allegations have not been independently established. In a separate report, Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan said no voter had been deleted based on the objections submitted at the polling station and that the administration would investigate the matter.