Hyderabad, August 19: Mahesh Kumar Goud, the president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), criticized the Election Commission on Tuesday for removing over 7.3 million names from the draft voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
He alleged that the Election Commission arbitrarily deleted a significant number of voters’ names under the guise of SIR.
Goud claimed that since 2014, the central BJP government has been undermining constitutional institutions. He stated that the Election Commission has become an ally of the BJP, similar to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The TPCC president pointed out that the rules set by the Election Commission are disenfranchising poor citizens. He questioned, “Who gave you the right to remove the votes of citizens born in this country?”
He criticized the removal of over 7.3 million voters, asking why an additional 9.2 million individuals in various categories remain on the voter list.
Goud noted that due to changes in delimitation and polling stations, many families lack records linked to the 2002 SIR. He questioned where people would obtain such old documents, especially since they are all born in India and have voted multiple times.
He insisted that regardless of whether voters have details from the 2002 SIR, they should be given the opportunity to present their case. He demanded the protection of every eligible voter’s right to vote and a fair investigation into the matter.
Goud urged the Election Commission to extend the deadline for SIR to allow thorough investigations into all cases.
He alleged that booth-level officers (BLOs) failed to distribute enumeration forms door-to-door. He claimed that most of those whose names were removed are poor and migrant workers.
It is noteworthy that the Election Commission published the draft voter list on Monday, which included the removal of 7.3 million voters categorized as absent, transferred, deceased, or duplicates.
Additionally, 9.28 million voters have been flagged for discrepancies in their enumeration details or incomplete records.
According to statistics, approximately 4.3 million of the 7.3 million voters removed from the draft list are from Hyderabad and the adjacent Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.
Leave a Comment