- Telangana officials rejected bulk Form-7 applications in two constituencies.
- CEO ordered action against false voter deletion submissions under law.
- Political parties clash over alleged misuse of Form-7 applications.
Election officials in Telangana on Monday said that Form-7 applications, used to file objections for proposed inclusions or deletions in the electoral roll, submitted in bulk in the Goshamahal and Musheerabad assembly constituencies were rejected.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner and District Election Officer R V Karnan said that the applications were received in much smaller numbers rather than in bulk.
In Goshamahal, the forms were declared ineligible because they did not have the applicants' signatures. In Musheerabad, an applicant named Balachander submitted Form-7 applications against 30 electors, but officials found them residing at the premises.
CEO Orders Action Against Misuse Of Form 7
Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C Sudharshan Reddy issued a memo to the GHMC Commissioner, the District Education Officer of Hyderabad, and all collectors and DEOs of districts across the state, asking them to "take appropriate action" against individuals who submitted Form 7s to falsely delete eligible voters from the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), The Indian Express reported.
The memo noted, "It has come to the notice of this office that there have been instances of filing bulk applications in Form 7 before the EROs (electoral registration officers) and it is also alleged that such forms are not genuine."
The CEO instructed that officials should "take action against the applicants, who have made knowingly false statement or declaration in writing in form 6, 6A, 7 and 8 as per the provisions of section 31 of the Representation of People Act 1950", adding that such action shall be preceded by an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Congress And AIMIM Accuse BJP; Complaint Filed
The ruling Congress and Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM accused the BJP of attempting to remove the names of Muslim voters from electoral rolls by submitting Form 7 during SIR. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi warned of a stir stronger than the one at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) electoral office has filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, seeking FIRs over alleged Form 7 misuse.
Congress complained to the state CEO that Balachander, who submitted the Form-7 applications in Musheerabad against 30 electors, including a Congress booth-level agent (BLA) and his family members, belongs to the BJP, seeking legal action for attempting to unlawfully seek deletion of genuine electors.
TPCC also flagged another instance of a pre-printed Form 7 in Bahadurpura constituency, alongside a third instance from Goshamahal assembly constituency's booth number 173.
"In the Goshamahal case, the BLO refused to accept the bulk pre-printed forms," a TPCC leader claimed.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a BLO who refused to take in pre-printed Form 7s said, "I was only doing my duty. I brought it to the notice of the ERO."
Meanwhile, Congress sources told PTI they had no knowledge of a video allegedly showing a BLO in Goshamahal rejecting Form 7 applications.
BJP Rejects Allegations
State BJP president N Ramchander Rao rejected the allegations, stating that no BJP Booth Level Agents submitted any such Form-7 applications. Rao emphasised that the SIR process is conducted entirely by state government machinery and that the Election Commission only deletes names following proper field-level inquiries into objections.
He further stated that it has become a habit for Congress to praise the system when it wins elections, but blame EVMs and the revision process whenever it loses.
(With Inputs From PTI)