New Delhi: Calling the SIR process a “Method of Disenfranchising Indians”, the Congress said on Monday that the ECI must address serious concerns about the risk of electors’ names being deleted from the voters’ list.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary in-charge of communications, said on X, “CEO Delhi has issued a press release on notices being sent to VIP electors and prominent individuals during the ongoing SIR. However, the issue is not about influential persons who will find a way to have their names included, but the vast majority who will struggle to do so.”
He said in Delhi, 54 per cent of voters have either been deleted or face risk of deletion. This absurdly high share calls the whole voter roll into question.
He said 5.43 crore Indians across 14 states and UTs have received such notices demanding additional documentation to prove their citizenship. There is abundant evidence that deletions affect the most socially and economically marginalised groups, including slum dwellers, people with low incomes and women.
“During the enumeration phase, names of over 6 Cr voters were removed. The ECI must explain why, after this, now an additional 5.4 cr voters are at risk of deletion?” he said.
Ramesh said other BJP states have still not released the list of voters at risk of deletion. This is an appalling lack of transparency, and every state must release the list immediately.
The Congress MP said, “CEO claims ‘There is no existential crisis’. Unless voters provide adequate documentation to the satisfaction of the BLO/ERO, they can be struck off the final roll. So they remain at risk of deletion. Very serious concerns have been raised about the SIR process. The ECI must address these concerns about a process that has become a Method Of Disenfranchising Indians.”
Earlier, addressing concerns related to notices being sent to 31.63 lakh Delhi electors during the ongoing SIR, the city’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar on Monday clarified that receiving notices does not mean their names will be deleted from the final voters’ list.
Any eligible person whose name is not in the Draft Electoral Roll may file Form 6 with supporting documents during the claim and objections period, till September 30, to get their name included in the final electoral roll, the CEO said in a statement.
The forms can be submitted in both offline mode to ERO/AERO/BLO or in online mode through https://voters.eci.gov.in and the ECINET Mobile App, he said.
