ECI clarified thirteen crore deleted voters were under ASDD.
Political parties received lists and one month for objections.
Opposition parties called for protests demanding electoral reforms.
The Election Commission has issued a clarification on the Opposition’s allegation that more than 13 crore voters were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the number belongs to voters who were categorised under the ASDD - Absent, Shifted Permanently, Dead and Duplicate.
According to the data released by the ECI, a total of 95.40 crore voters were scrutinised during the three phases of the SIR exercise. Out of these, 13.39 crore voters were categorised under ASDD and other categories during the revision process.
The Election Commission official said more than 10 lakh Booth Level Officers across the states checked the ASDD lists before they were finalised, reported News18. The lists were then shared booth by booth with over 22 lakh Booth Level Agents of political parties. After the draft electoral rolls were published, voters had one month to submit claims and objections.
Eligible voters could ask for their names to be added during that month. Others could object to names that should not have been on the draft rolls. The Commission said a genuine voter left out in the SIR process could still seek inclusion through the claims and objections route and then through Form 6.
The SIR Row
The opposition parties, including Congress, are protesting against several decisions of the Election Commission. The opposition parties are alleging that the EC has struck off several genuine voters across the country and has helped the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to an Indian Express report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to the changes in Form 6 of electoral rolls. Through Form 6, an eligible Indian citizen applies for inclusion in the electoral roll as a new voter. According to the report, Joshi recorded that the statutory form could not be altered without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and Sandhu concurred.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called on supporters across the country for protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10. The CJP has said that the agitation would continue beyond Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation until reforms were made to the electoral system.
