Mumbai, Apr 2 (PTI) A Maharashtra Congress delegation on Thursday met Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Chockalingam and demanded that the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state be carried out in a fair and transparent manner.
State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal pointed out that concerns have been raised in several states where the voter list revision exercise had been conducted earlier, with complaints alleging deliberate exclusion of voters belonging to specific castes and religions.
He claimed that in some states, irregularities were reported in the revision process conducted ahead of elections, allegedly benefiting ruling parties.
Sapkal said the Congress has urged authorities to ensure that the electoral roll revision exercise in Maharashtra, expected to start in April, is conducted without haste and in an impartial manner.
The delegation, led by Sapkal, submitted a memorandum to Chockalingam, demanding, among others things, that the SIR of electoral rolls be carried out in a fair and transparent manner.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the CEO, Sapkal noted that the last SIR of electoral rolls in Maharashtra was conducted between 2002 and 2004 over a period of nearly 13 months.
Given that the voter base has increased by around 3.5 crore since then, he opined that the upcoming exercise should be planned accordingly and carried out over a sufficiently long duration of time.
Since no major elections are scheduled in the state in the next two to three years, the revision process could be conducted over 18 to 24 months to eliminate any doubts in people’s minds, Sapkal insisted.
The Congress also said the SIR process should not be conducted simultaneously with the Census by the same officials, and added political parties should be provided electoral data in soft copy, machine-readable formats as well as in hard copy.
The Opposition party further sought a minimum one-month window for filing objections and responding to notices, and at least seven days’ notice before deletion of any voter’s name from the rolls.
Sapkal emphasised that safeguards must be put in place to ensure that Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), who play a key role in the voter list revamp exercise, are able to work freely and without any pressure.
He demanded that SIR-related data be preserved for at least five years at the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and District Election Officer (DEO) levels, and be made available to political parties as required.
The Congress called for strict scrutiny of Form 7 (application for deletion of name in electoral rolls for death or change of address) and timely sharing of lists of voters marked as “Absent, Shifted or Dead” (ASD) with recognised political parties at the polling booth-level.
The party stressed that the process should not be used to indirectly implement measures akin to a citizenship verification exercise such as the NRC (National Register of Citizens), and must remain limited strictly to voter registration. PTI MR RSY
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