SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, September 28, alleged that 727 of the 728 voter names in Bela Estate in Delhi were deleted, claiming it was an act of “vote theft”.
In a video posted on X, Gandhi said, “728 people live in Bela Estate on the banks of the Yamuna. After SIR, only one name remains on the voter list – the other 727 names have been struck off.”
“Today, I went to their jhuggi and heard directly from them what the Election Commission has done to them. On the phone with the SDM, I said exactly this – having a house or not has no connection to the right to vote. CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself has said that ‘House Number 0’ is for the homeless. Yet, 727 people’s names have been struck off. This isn’t SIR – this is a method of vote theft,” his post on X read.
‘Inka naam voter list pe hai aur tha aur salon se hai‘
He said the affected people have been living in the area for decades and have already voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi by-elections. “In 2023, their homes were demolished – but they didn’t go anywhere; they’re still right here,” Gandhi said.
Speaking to the Sub-District Magistrate (SDM) over the phone, the LoP could be heard saying, “Inka naam voter list pe hai aur tha aur salon se hai (Their names are on the voter list—they have been there for years).”
He questioned on what basis their names were deleted and asked for the official’s name and designation to resolve the matter. “You removed their names from the list,” Gandhi alleged.
In 2023, their homes were demolished – but they didn’t go anywhere; they’re still right here, he wrote on X. The Congress leader asserted that these actions do not constitute SIR – Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls – but a method of stealing votes. “Those who already have the least are being stripped of their only source of power,” Gandhi wrote.
He said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will “eventually leave office”, but the system behind him will also be held accountable.
ERO office clarifies claims
The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Chandni Chowk Assembly on Monday invited eligible voters of the Bela Estate to apply in Form 6 along with supporting documents for inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls, if they have still not done so. The ERO office, in a statement, clarified the reports that only one of the 728 voters registered in the electoral rolls of the Bela Estate could make it to the revised draft rolls.
The statement said that during SIR Enumeration, forms were distributed by the BLOs to the electors at their registered address. The BLOs later collected the forms from the electors. In Bela Estate’s case, the electoral roll was examined, and observed that in most cases, the address of the electors was recorded as “Agriculture.” House numbers too were recorded in respect to a few electors, it said.
It appears that a substantial number of electors residing in the area were engaged in agricultural activities in and around the Yamuna Bank, the statement read. The agricultural activities or illegal cultivation in the said area were discontinued in 2021, and dwelling units were demolished in 2022-23. As a result, the physical and residential status of the area substantially changed since the preparation of the earlier electoral rolls, the ERO office said.
The BLO was required to undertake house-to-house vitis for distribution of the Enumeration Forms to the electors at their registered address. Due to the demolition of the dwelling units, these electors were no longer residing at the registered address; thus, their status as “ordinary resident: has changed. As such, the BLO has correctly placed these electors in the ASDO (Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Others) List, said the ERO’s office.
(With inputs from agencies)
SOURCE : SIASAT
