Bengaluru: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied reports that Professor CNR Rao, one of the country’s most celebrated scientists, was reportedly asked to appear for a hearing to establish his identity after his name was flagged for a spelling mismatch during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka.
After the report of the renowned scientist receiving an SIR notice over the alleged spelling mismatch gained traction, the ECI issued a clarification.
District Election Officer (DEO) and Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao said no such notice had been issued to Bharat Ratna Prof CNR Rao in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the Malleshwaram Assembly Constituency of Bengaluru Urban district.
“It has come to the notice of the authorities that certain media reports stated that a notice was issued to Bharat Ratna Prof CNR Rao. In this regard, as part of the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls, Enumeration Forms were respectfully delivered in person to Prof CNR Rao and his family members at their residence by the State SVEEP Nodal Officer, along with the Commissioner of the Bengaluru West City Corporation. The required information was also duly filled in,” the DEO stated, as reported by India Today.
It had earlier been reported that the 92-year-old Bharat Ratna recipient was issued a notice under the SIR in Karnataka.
The notice allegedly cited “self-name mismatch” as the grounds. While the older electoral roll lists him as “Prof CNR Rao”, the current roll records the entry as “Proff CNR Rao”, inserting an extra “f” in the professional title.
This discrepancy has led election officials to ask the veteran researcher to establish his identity as part of the SIR verification process.
Under the SIR exercise, a “self-name mismatch” occurs when an elector relies on details from the 2002 electoral roll while filling the SIR enumeration form, but those particulars do not tally with the current roll. As a result, Professor Rao has reportedly been summoned for a hearing in Malleshwaram, close to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), to clarify the variation and confirm his identity.
The episode had attracted attention given Rao’s stature as one of India’s most honoured scientists and a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award. The notice forms part of the broader SIR drive, which entails checking and updating voter information across Karnataka, as reported by ap7am.com
Born in Bengaluru in 1934, Prof Rao is a globally acknowledged solid-state and materials chemist. He established the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit at IISc in 1976 and served as the institute’s director from 1984 to 1994. With more than 1,600 research papers and numerous international accolades, he was conferred the Bharat Ratna in 2013 for his exceptional contributions to science.
The development follows a similar SIR-related notice to Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba, which the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) addressed on Tuesday.