HYDERABAD: Alleging that the constitutional institutions were being weakened since the BJP-led NDA government assumed office at the centre, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of adopting an “indifferent approach” towards the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan here, Mahesh Goud said that the Congress was fighting to protect every citizen’s right to vote. He said that there are around 3.38 voters in Telangana but more than 73 lakh names have been subjected to deletion or verification-related objections.
Alleging that the exercise was particularly affecting poor and vulnerable sections of society, he questioned the clause that requires voters to furnish details linked to 2002 electoral records, saying that many genuine voters were unable to submit enumeration forms because they have no access to the required records. “Around 32.37 lakh voters have been categorised as unmapped. More than 60 lakh votes have been placed under various doubtful or verification categories,” he said, while claiming that the overall number of voters facing questions, including those listed under ASDD, anomalies and unmapped categories, had crossed 1.60 crore.
Mahesh Goud also claimed that there was a huge difference between the number of receipts issued by Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and the figures being mentioned by the Election Commission. “BLAs issued receipts for around 35,000 applications but the EC has put that figure at 13,100,” he said.
The TPCC chief demanded that genuine voters should not be denied the right to exercise their franchise just because they were unable to produce 2002-related details. “If the present details are correct and the voter is otherwise eligible, the right to vote must be protected,” he said.