'SIR notice generated for CNR Rao, Shivarajkumar but not issued'

Addressing concerns that eminent personalities such as Bharat Ratna Prof C N R Rao and Kannada film star Shivarajkumar were being served notices as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said the notices may have been generated due to mismatches in names.However, he clarified that the two personalities had not actually been served notices, as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had been informed about the VIPs and that the issue was being resolved at the officials’ level.“There are about 125 awardees in Bengaluru and many other well-known VIPs. Due to some mismatch, a notice may have been generated. But our officials will ensure that such issues are sorted out,” he said.A notice was generated in the 92-year-old scientist’s name because the  current draft roll gave his name as ‘Proff C N R Rao S/O Nagesh Rav H’, whereas the 2002 electoral roll had listed it as ‘Rama S/O H Nagesh.’Karnataka SIR: Padma Shri winner Harekala Hajabba gets notice for name discrepancyThe Additional District Election Officer, Bengaluru North, said that given Prof Rao’s stature and contribution, no notice was issued to him or his family members. Further, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) “rightfully” recommended final approval to the Additional Electoral Registration Officer (AERO), who approved the record for addition in the final roll on September 8.A notice for Shiva Rajkumar, 64, was generated because his name was not mapped with the 2002 list.There are also reports that notices were generated in the names of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. However, the GBA chief did not mention them at Wednesday’s press conference.The top official said special camps would be held on September 18 and 19 to reach out to more people and facilitate the revision process.“We have also deputed additional staff to ensure that the process is completed. We are confident that our officers will complete the hearings by the end of this month and that we will be able to publish the final list by October 12,” Rao said.The GBA will announce a dedicated helpline for citizens to contact officials regarding any concerns during the process.“Sometimes, officials may not accept the documents provided. There might be concerns among people, and in such cases, they can reach out to us through the helpline,” Rao added.He said officials would also assist senior citizens and persons with disabilities by visiting their homes.“Family members can also appear for the hearing. However, if they are unable to do so, our officials will visit them,” Rao said.So far, nearly 26 lakh notices have been served in Bengaluru, including 6.24 lakh notices relating to logical discrepancies such as name mismatches, unusually small age differences between parents and children, and other such cases.

Source: Deccan Herald