HYDERABAD: Pointing to pre-printed forms and bulk applications in the Goshamahal Assembly constituency, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that Form-7 applications were being used to target Muslim voters for deletion from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Telangana.
Speaking to the media in Hyderabad, Asad said pre-printed Form-7 applications had surfaced in Goshamahal and questioned their source. He alleged that applications were being submitted specifically against Muslim voters in Booth Nos. 28, 30 and 127. “Where did these pre-printed Form-7 forms come from?” the Hyderabad MP asked, questioning why Muslim voters were being targeted in the constituency.
He also questioned how a single individual could submit 122 Form-7 applications and demanded to know who the person was and how the applications had been submitted in such large numbers.
The AIMIM chief demanded that criminal cases be registered against those who submitted Form-7 applications in bulk. “We do not understand what is happening in Telangana,” he said.
He added that while he could not comment on what had happened in West Bengal, the situation in Hyderabad was something they were witnessing directly.
Asad further alleged that BJP leaders themselves were submitting Form-7 applications seeking deletion of Muslim voters’ names. He demanded that cases be registered against those involved in such activities.
He also urged the Chief Election Commissioner to take action against BJP leaders if the Election Commission was truly independent. Questioning the need for what he termed “drama”, he asked why ordinary citizens were being put to hardship during the electoral roll revision process.
Questioning the manner in which the Chief Election Commissioner is selected, Asad called for a return to the earlier system of appointing the CEC, demanding that the CEC selection process be conducted in the presence of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of India.
He also raised questions over discrepancies in the SIR process, citing the case of a person who, he said, had the right to vote in 2002 but whose name was now missing from the electoral roll.
