Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge raised questions on the Election Commission and the Central Government after many prominent people including LK Advani, S Jaishankar, Jagdeep Dhankhar received notices during the SIR in Delhi. Regarding SIR, Kharge described it as a 'Frankenstein monster' and also raised questions on giving notice to VIP voters.
Tezzbuzz Desk– Political controversy is increasing in Delhi regarding Special Intensive Revision of Voter List i.e. SIR. The Election Commission has issued notices to many prominent people on the basis of discrepancies in voter records and non-mapping with old records. These include many names including former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. According to election officials, the notices are part of the process and do not directly mean removal of names from the voter list.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has targeted the Central Government and the Election Commission on this issue. Kharge said that the SIR, which started from Bihar, has now reached Delhi and the reasons for which Congress was calling this process flawed from the beginning, the same questions are now coming to the fore.
Comparing SIR to a 'Frankenstein monster', Kharge alleged that the process which the Congress was terming as vote theft and a threat to democracy, has now come under the ambit of many big names associated with the ruling party.
The names of LK Advani, S Jaishankar, Jagdeep Dhankhar and many other prominent people have appeared in the notices issued in Delhi. According to officials, notices have been issued in some cases due to non-mapping with old voter records and in some due to other discrepancies related to the records.
Kharge also raised questions on the issue of deletion of names from the voter list. He mentioned those voters in West Bengal, after whose names were removed, it has been claimed that in the appeal process, a decision has been taken in favor of a large number of people. Kharge raised the question on what grounds people's voting rights are being questioned.
The Congress president also questioned the use of terms like 'VIP' or 'marked electors' by the Election Commission. He asked whether there could be any separate category of voters in the system of universal adult franchise. Kharge sought a reply from the Election Commission citing the constitutional principle of 'One Person, One Vote, One Value'.
At the same time, the Election Commission says that the notice issued during SIR is not an order to automatically remove the name of any voter. According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, before removing any name, the concerned voter will be given an opportunity to express his views and further action will be taken only after appropriate order.