Mysuru: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Spokesperson M. Lakshmana has alleged that the Central Government is attempting to delete one crore voters in Karnataka under the guise of SIR of electoral rolls.

Addressing mediapersons at Congress Bhavan on Monday, he claimed that Karnataka has around 5.6 crore voters, of whom 50 lakh had already been left out during SIR mapping exercise.

“The Centre is now plotting to delete another 60 lakh voters during revision process,” he alleged.

Refuting the BJP’s allegations against the State Government, he accused the saffron party of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls through SIR exercise.

He alleged that the BJP had deleted around 6.5 crore voters in 13 States and subsequently came to power in those States. “It is now trying to delete one crore voters in Karnataka. The Congress is resisting this move by reaching out to every voter, helping them complete the required forms and ensuring that all eligible voters remain on rolls. Unable to tolerate this, the BJP has been making baseless allegations against the State Government,” he claimed.

District Congress President Dr. B.J. Vijaykumar referred to allegations made by Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Wadiyar and JD(S) leader S.R. Mahesh regarding the conduct of the SIR exercise.

Challenging both the leaders, Vijaykumar said they should participate in a public debate if they possessed documentary evidence to support their allegations. “We will be waiting for their call,” he said.

City Congress President R. Murthy, party leaders Shivanna, Media Spokesperson Mahesh and others were present.