SIR Voter Deletion: Amid the special intensive revision (SIR) process of electoral rolls across states, several prominent names have been excluded from voter lists including former deputy prime minister L K Advani and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia are among the prominent voters in Delhi whose names appear on the list of 33 lakh people being issued notices over "discrepancies" in the details furnished under the SIR.
The 98-year-old veteran leader, his daughter Pratibha and daughter-in-law Geetika were issued notices after their names could not be mapped to the 2002 SIR electoral roll, while his son Jayant cleared the mapping exercise. All four are registered voters in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.
Similarly, Sisodia, his wife Seema and their son Meer have also been issued notices.
While the poll body has not cited a reason for issuing a notice to Sisodia, officials said Meer's notice mentions a "discrepancy in his parent's name". The reason cited in Seema's notice is a "mismatch in her own name".
According to a senior police officer, who told PTI, the notices arose from "logical discrepancies" in the details furnished by the voters in their enumeration forms.
However, confirming that the names of Advani and Sisodia figured in the list of 33.13 lakh voters who have been issued notices, he said, "Their names will be included in final voter lists after due process of verification of facts and documents to be furnished by such voters."
The process of verification of facts and documents is underway, and the validation of entries is being carried out accordingly.
EAM Jaishankar, Election Commissioner SS Sandhu Also Excluded
This is not all. Many prominent voters, including top government functionaries, bureaucrats, and politicians, have been issued notices under the SIR. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, and former Union minister Kapil Sibal have also been issued notices for similar reasons.
According to a News18 report, Election Commissioner SS Sandhu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have also been included in the list of voters issued notices as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Moreover, the list includes Congress leader and senior Parliamentarian Kapil Sibal, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
The Delhi CEO's office has said that notices were being issued to voters whose names could not be linked to the electoral roll from the last SIR or whose details showed discrepancies when linked with the previous roll.
This comes after each voter was required to submit an enumeration form during the door-to-door verification exercise conducted between June 30 and August 17.
Out of around 97 lakh voters whose names are included in the draft rolls, 33.13 lakh have been identified for notices over discrepancies in their enumeration forms. More than 31.63 lakh notices have been served so far.
ALSO READ: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Arvind Kejriwal Among 33 Lakh Voters Who Receive EC Notices On SIR
Most notices relate to the absence of corresponding records in the electoral roll prepared during the previous SIR in 2002.
The CEO's office said the notices were being issued as part of the claims and objections phase of the SIR, which will conclude on September 30.
The voters have been asked to submit their replies and supporting documents to the Electoral Registration Officers of their respective assembly constituencies by October 29.
What EC Said
The Chief Electoral Officer has clarified that notices issued to certain electors during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls do not mean that their names will be deleted, while stating that no name can be removed without giving the elector an opportunity of being heard and passing a proper, speaking and appealable order.
The CEO office added the draft electoral roll was prepared on the basis of information provided by electors in Enumeration Forms submitted to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and was published on August 31.
Earlier on May 14, the Election Commission of India had announced the SIR in Delhi with the objective of ensuring that "No eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll."
Electors appearing in the draft roll have been categorised into those who have mapped or linked themselves, or their progeny entries, with electoral rolls of the last intensive revision and those who could not establish such a link.
Among them, notices are being issued to electors who could not be linked with the electoral roll of the last intensive revision and those having "logical discrepancies" in their linking.
EC has asked electors receiving notices can submit their replies and requisite documents to the concerned ERO or BLO. The CEO office said the list of documents prescribed by the ECI is "only Indicative not exhaustive" and that EROs, as statutory authorities, will take a final decision on a case-to-case basis after considering available documents and the BLO's report.
The disposal of notices is scheduled to be completed by October 29, following which the names of such electors will be included in the final electoral roll to be published on November 4.
EC said, "All stakeholders are hereby informed that issue of Notice does not mean that their names will be deleted from the electoral rolls of NCT of Delhi. System generated Notices are being issued to above said categories to correct their data in ECINET. No name can be deleted without giving an opportunity of being heard and a proper speaking and appealable order. Therefore, there is no existential crisis as is being."