Hans News Service Rajamahendravaram

FormerAP Congress Committee(APCC) president and special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Gidugu Rudra Raju, on Wednesday expressed serious concerns over the Election Commission of India’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, alleging that the exercise could result in large-scale deletion of genuine voters. Addressing a press conference here, Rudra Raju said the SIR process, covering more than 4.16 crore voters in the State, is currently underway with house-to-house verification scheduled from June 15 to July 14, followed by publication of draft electoral rolls on July 21. Claims and objections can be filed between July 21 and August 20, while the final electoral rolls will be published on September 22.

He said the Congress party would closely monitor the revision process and ensure that no eligible voter is deprived of the constitutional right to vote.

Party cadres would assist citizens in verifying voter details, filing complaints and seeking corrections wherever necessary.

Rudra Raju alleged that similar revision exercises conducted in several States had resulted in large-scale deletions of voter names. Referring to figures from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, he said the experience of SIR elsewhere had raised concerns among opposition parties about the possibility of genuine voters being removed from electoral rolls.

He criticised the Election Commission for not holding wider consultations with political stakeholders before launching the exercise. A revision of electoral rolls should be carried out transparently and with the participation of all political parties, he said.