Stories
Ex-CEC OP Rawat Urges Election Commission To Address Voter Deletion Claims With Facts
- •Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat stated that the Election Commission should respond to allegations of large-scale voter deletions using facts and evidence.
- •Rawat's comments follow a major Opposition protest in Delhi led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, where leaders marched towards the ECI headquarters and were briefly detained.
- •Addressing the Opposition's request for a large delegation meeting, Rawat noted that the ECI has enough space to accommodate all visiting MPs.
- •The controversy centers around the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, with the Opposition claiming over 13 crore names were improperly deleted.
- •The ECI maintains the revision cleans electoral rolls of ineligible entries, while ordering a special drive across 20 states and Union Territories to re-enrol any left-out genuine voters.
Key Questions Answered
The dispute centers on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with Opposition parties alleging that over 13 crore names were deleted from draft lists across states and Union Territories. While the Opposition has questioned the transparency of the exercise, the ECI maintains that the revision aims to clean the electoral rolls and identify ineligible entries.
Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat stated that the Election Commission should respond directly to allegations of large-scale voter deletions using facts and evidence. He also noted that the poll panel should accommodate and meet the delegation of hundreds of MPs seeking to discuss their concerns.
The ECI ordered a special drive across 20 states and Union Territories where the SIR process has been completed to identify and enroll genuine voters who may have been left out. Officials have also been directed to compare pre-SIR and post-SIR rolls to find and rectify any wrongly excluded voters.
