SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The BRS on Monday urged the Election Commission (EC) to extend the present schedule of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Telangana by a month and raised several concerns, including non-availability of 2002 electoral rolls with Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers and deletion of voters on the ground of minor spelling mistakes.
In a representation submitted to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), C Sudharshan Reddy, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) said the present schedule is insufficient to resolve several issues and to complete the SIR process effectively.
The party asked the EC to extend the schedule by one month to ensure all genuine voters have a fair opportunity and the process is completed transparently and without errors.
Former BRS MP B Vinod Kumar, who led the party delegation, said the CEO assured that the request to extend the schedule by a month would be made to the EC.
Main concern is non-availability of 2002 electoral roll: BRS
The house-to-house enumeration of voters for the SIR of electoral rolls commenced in Telangana on June 25, and the exercise would continue till July 24.
BRS said one of the main concerns regarding the ongoing SIR is the non-availability of the 2002 electoral roll, which has been taken as the reference document for verification during the ongoing SIR.
The 2002 electoral roll has not been supplied to the political parties, and the parties have been advised to obtain the same from the official website, which remains inaccessible or non-functional on several occasions, the party said.
More importantly, nearly 40 to 50 per cent of the electors reflected in the 2002 electoral roll do not have their EPIC numbers mentioned. In the absence of EPIC numbers, comparison between the existing electoral roll and the 2002 electoral roll becomes extremely difficult, it said.
Minor spelling mistakes used for deletion, alleges BRS
The BRS said it has been observed in several constituencies that minor spelling mistakes in the names of electors are being treated as grounds for deletion from the electoral rolls.
The party also said the differences in the sequence of names, such as recording the surname before the given name or vice versa, are being treated as discrepancies leading to deletion of electors.
Such variations are common in public records, educational certificates, Aadhaar, ration cards and several government databases, it said.
The K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party also expressed concern over the alleged lack of transparency in the identification of duplicate and deceased voters.
While the deletion of duplicate, multiple and deceased voters is necessary for maintaining the purity of electoral rolls, there is no information available regarding the manner in which such voters are being identified or the particulars of the proposed deletions, the BRS said.
The BRS urged the EC to examine the issues raised by the party and issue appropriate directions to all concerned authorities to protect the interests of genuine voters.
SOURCE : SIASAT
