Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (TP)
Udupi, Jun 17: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has enjoyed one of the longest tenures as Prime Minister, but the real measure of leadership lies in the contribution made to the country,” said former minister K Jayaprakash Hegde.
Addressing the media during a press conference held at Amruth Garden, Ambagilu, on June 16 regarding the door-to-door awareness campaign on SIR (Special Intensive Revision) by the Udupi district Congress, K Jayaprakash Hegde alleged that the new SIR exercise could deprive many eligible citizens of their voting rights.
Jayaprakash Hegde said that since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, India had witnessed the establishment of institutions such as IITs, public sector undertakings, and advancements in atomic energy. He also criticized the Prime Minister for allegedly failing to fulfil the promise of providing two crore jobs annually to Indian youth, stating that the Karnataka government introduced its guarantee scheme of Rs 2,000 monthly assistance for unemployed youth in response to the employment situation.
Comparing the present government with previous administrations, Jayaprakash Hegde noted that former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had frequently addressed the media through press conferences. He further pointed out that the BJP had protested when the value of the US dollar touched Rs 66 and fuel prices increased during the UPA regime, but remained silent over the present rise in fuel prices and its impact on consumer goods.
On the issue of voter list revision, Jayaprakash Hegde said that cases of duplicate voter entries due to identical names and parentage are automatically addressed during the verification process.
KPCC Campaign Committee president Vinay Kumar Sorake alleged that, unlike previous voter list revisions, which focused on including missing voters, the current SIR exercise appeared aimed at removing names from electoral rolls. He argued that the Election Commission does not have the constitutional authority to determine the citizenship status of individuals and questioned the requirement of producing documents that many citizens may not possess.
Vinay Kumar Sorake claimed that the process was creating uncertainty among voters regarding their electoral rights and alleged that the exercise lacked logical justification. He further accused the Central government of being responsible for what he termed an unconstitutional exercise intended to influence election outcomes. “The Congress party will work to safeguard the voting rights of every individual,” he said.
Udupi District Congress president Ashok Kumar Kodavoor said that India’s first chief election commissioner, Sukumar Sen, had worked extensively to ensure voting rights for every citizen during the first general elections in 1952. He alleged that the present system was forcing citizens to prove their nationality before being allowed to vote.
The Udupi District Congress announced that it would conduct a district-wide awareness campaign on the SIR process from June 30 to July 29 through BLA-1 and BLA-2 workers. Party workers will visit households to educate voters about the revision process and also highlight what they described as the failures of the Central government.
Congress leaders Prasad Raj Kanchan, Muniyal Uday Shetty, Dinesh Hegde Molahalli, Raju Poojary, Udupi Taluk Guarantee Scheme Implementation Committee president Ramesh Kanchan, District Congress working president Kishan Hegde Kolkebail, Hariprasad Rai, District Campaign Committee president Harish Kini, District Mahila Congress president Jyothi Hebbar, Subhod Rao, Santhosh Kulal, Y Sukumar, Gopinath Bhat, Prashanth Jathanna, Kishore Yermal, and others were present during the press conference.