CNR Rao Name Discrepancy Hearing: Did Bharat Ratna Scientist Receive SIR Notice for Another ‘F’? GBA boss clarifies | Today’s news
Chief Commissioner of Greater Bengaluru (GBA) M Maheshwar Rao on Wednesday clarified that contrary to reports, no notice has been served on Bharat Ratna awardee Prof. CNR Rao under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Roll.
In a statement, the GBA said there was a discrepancy in Rao’s name in the election records. However, instead of issuing a notice to him, the booth-level officer recommended that his name be included in the electoral roll.
According to a Hindustan Times report, his name appeared as “Prof. CNR Rao” in the previous voter list, while in the current list, it is listed as “Prof. CNR Rao” with an “f” appended to the name. The purported notice asked him to appear for a hearing in Bengaluru.
“No notice has been issued to Hon’ble Bharat Ratna (awardee) Prof CN (R) Rao in connection with Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls in Malleshwaram constituency,” the GBA said, referring to Maheshwara Rao, who also serves as PTI’s district election officer in Bengaluru Urban.
As part of the SIR exercise, state nodal officer SVEEP, accompanied by Bengaluru West City Corporation Commissioner, personally delivered the enumeration forms to Rao and his family members at their residence, the GBA said. Subsequently, the required data was filled in.
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According to the GBA, Rao was listed as a voter in Section No. 129, Serial No. 431 of 76-Malleshwaram constituency in the 2002 electoral roll.
“At that time, his name was recorded as ‘Rama’. Presently, he is registered as a voter in Ward No. 59, Serial No. 187 of Constituency 157-Malleshwaram, under the name ‘Prof CN Rao M’. Accordingly, his name has also been included in the draft voter list,” the statement said.
“A discrepancy has been found in the name of a respectable person in the electoral roll. In view of this, the Booth Level Officer (BLO), without issuing any notice, has recommended inclusion of his name in the final electoral roll as he considers him a respected person. Accordingly, necessary steps have been initiated to include his name in the final electoral roll,” the GBA added.
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Prof Rao could not be reached for comment on the matter, according to PTI.
Karnataka SIR: More than 4.38 million voters may get notification; the final electoral list will be published on October 27
More than 4.381 million notices are likely to be issued under the SIR of electoral rolls in Karnataka, which began on June 30, HT reported. Notices will be sent to voters whose records have been categorized as “no mapping” and “anomaly”. The process of handling complaints and objections will continue till October 22, with the final list of voters expected to be published on October 27.
In May, the Election Commission of India announced the third phase of the SIR exercise in 16 states and three Union Territories.
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After completion of this phase, the SIR exercise will cover the entire country except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Some 400,000 booth-level officials were tasked with making house-to-house visits, covering 367.3 million voters, before the draft electoral rolls were published between July 5 and October 21.
The first two phases of SIR covered 13 states and Union territories and covered nearly 590 million voters. The latest electoral roll revision began in Bihar in June last year to weed out bogus, duplicate and ineligible voters, including deceased persons and “illegal immigrants”.
