Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi has clarified his remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying they were misunderstood and did not endorse the exercise. The clarification followed political reactions to comments that appeared to support the voter-list revision in the state.

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In a statement posted on X, Jarkiholi said he was referring to what he described as attempts to remove Congress-supporting voters through Form 7 applications. He claimed those efforts had been thwarted in Karnataka through the work of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and under Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s guidance.

Jarkiholi said he was not suggesting that SIR itself was correct or valid. He reiterated that he opposed any attempt to remove eligible voters from electoral rolls and said the resistance began in Belagavi district.

Form 7 is an Election Commission of India application for objecting to a proposed inclusion or seeking deletion of a name from an existing electoral roll. Filing an application does not by itself establish that a voter should be removed; election officials consider the objection under the prescribed process.

The remarks drew attention because Congress leaders have criticised SIR in other contexts. Jarkiholi’s clarification sought to distinguish his comments about alleged Form 7 activity from support for the revision exercise itself. His claims about efforts to target Congress-supporting voters remain allegations attributed to him.

The episode adds to debate over electoral-roll revision, with Jarkiholi saying he opposes removing eligible voters but did not endorse SIR in his earlier public comments.