Words were misinterpreted: Karnataka minister clarifies SIR stand after backing it

Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Friday clarified his remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying his statement had been misinterpreted.

He said he was referring to the Congress's efforts to counter attempts to delete the names of eligible voters through Form 7 applications and had not endorsed the SIR process itself.

In a statement posted on X, Jarkiholi said his remarks were intended to highlight how attempts to remove the names of Congress-supporting voters from electoral rolls in Karnataka had been thwarted through the efforts of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and under the guidance of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

"Compared to other states, the BJP's conspiracy to delete names of Congress-supporting voters from the electoral rolls in Karnataka through Form-7 has been foiled through the struggle of our national leader Shri Rahul Gandhi and under the guidance of Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister Shri D.K. Shivakumar — this was the intention of my statement," he said. SIR ! SIR . –7 .. . , SIR . –7 , . . . . , . @kcvenugopalmp @rssurjewala @INCIndia @INCKarnataka @DKShivakumar #KarnatakaNews— Satish Jarkiholi (@JarkiholiSatish) October 30, 2026

He added that he had not intended to suggest that the SIR process was correct or valid.

Jarkiholi said the resistance against attempts to delete eligible voters' names had begun in Belagavi district. Reiterating his position, he said he opposed any move to deprive eligible voters of their voting rights and supported Rahul Gandhi's efforts to protect democratic values.

"My stand against any attempt to snatch away the rights of eligible voters has been firm from the beginning. I strongly oppose attempts to illegally remove names of eligible voters from the voters' list," he said.WHAT JARKIHOLI SAID ABOUT SIR IN KARNATAKA

The clarification came a day after Jarkiholi defended the SIR exercise in Karnataka, saying it had been conducted properly and that other states should follow the same approach.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, he said the Congress had not opposed the exercise in Karnataka but had raised concerns about its implementation in states such as West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar.

"We didn't protest about SIR in Karnataka, we raised issues about the SIR process in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, etc. Because of all the training we gave, SIR has been done properly in Karnataka, we want it to be done the same way in other states too," he said.

Asked about the deletion of around one crore voter entries, Jarkiholi said the names belonged to people who had died, shifted or appeared more than once on the electoral rolls. He said similar deletions should have been carried out in other states.- EndsWith ANI inputs