95,000 people marked ineligible in Uttarakhand SIR, Congress alleges irregularities
95,000 people marked ineligible in Uttarakhand SIR, Congress alleges irregularities
M.U.H
25/09/202613
Form 7 applications were auto-generated for nearly 95,000 voters marked "ineligible" for the final electoral roll in Uttarakhand after they failed to produce the required documents or could not appear before the election authorities themselves or through a family member under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.
The official statement was issued on Thursday. The polling body official clarified that the applications were auto-generated by the system after the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) marked the voters as ineligible.
The CEO's office said around 1.73 lakh Form-7 applications have been received during the SIR process so far, with more than 95,000, or over half of them, relating to voters who were placed in the "ineligible" category.
The draft electoral roll was published on July 14, while the hearing of claims and objections is currently underway. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 3.
Form 7 is used for seeking deletion of a name from the electoral roll. According to the Election Commission (EC), ERO.net provides EROs with the right to add or delete names when notices are served.
If an ERO finds a person ineligible, the officer has to click on Form 7 for deletion. Once that is done, there is no rollback provision.
CONGRESS ALLEGES IRREGULARITIES
The opposition Congress has levelled allegations of large-scale irregularities related to the exercise in the state.
Uttarakhand Congress in-charge Kumari Selja questioned how Form-7 applications could be auto-generated at the discretion of AEROs and EROs when the same officials are responsible for deciding on them.
She claimed that 42,030 Form-7 applications were tied to AEROs and another 22,443 to EROs.
Selja also questioned the difference in the number of Form-7 applications in Uttarakhand and Punjab and sought clarity on the process through which they were generated.
'INELIGIBLE CATEGORY NOT FINAL'
The CEO's office has clarified that being placed in the "ineligible" category during the SIR does not permanently shut the door on inclusion in the electoral roll.
According to the statement, such voters can submit Form 6 after the final electoral roll is published on October 3. They will have to submit the documents prescribed by the EC and can apply for inclusion in the electoral roll before the election.
The CEO's office has also directed district election officers and EROs to conduct a special campaign after publication of the final roll to facilitate the inclusion of eligible new voters.
It also asserted that the SIR exercise is being conducted according to the prescribed rules and in a transparent manner.
The CEO's office also said that regular meetings were being held with recognised political parties at the assembly, district and state levels, where information related to the electoral rolls' revision is being shared.
