Guwahati, Jan 22 (IANS) Assam Leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, on Thursday flagged what he described as a “grave threat to democratic principles,” alleging large-scale and wrongful deletion of voters’ names during the summary and special revision of electoral rolls in the Nazira Assembly constituency.

In a detailed representation to the Chief Election Commissioner, Saikia sought urgent intervention by the Election Commission of India, claiming that numerous permanent residents of Nazira were excluded from the updated electoral rolls despite having voted in previous elections.

He alleged that the deletions were carried out without following due legal procedure.

According to the opposition leader, many of the affected individuals belong to indigenous communities that have been residing in the constituency for generations, including those from the period before Independence.

Saikia stated that in several cases, village headmen and gaon pradhans had officially certified that the voters concerned were permanent residents and continued to live in their respective villages.

Despite such verification, their names were either removed from the rolls or marked as “questionable,” he alleged. Raising concerns over procedural lapses, Saikia said that interactions with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) revealed a lack of clarity and consistency.

He claimed that BLOs were unable to provide satisfactory explanations for the deletions, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability and adherence to prescribed norms during the roll revision exercise in Nazira.

The Congress leader further alleged that a substantial number of those affected belonged to the Muslim community, alongside other long-settled indigenous residents. He cautioned that such patterns, if left unaddressed, could point towards discriminatory practices in the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.

Saikia also highlighted instances where voters were reportedly declared dead during field verification despite being alive. Such cases, he said, indicated serious deficiencies in the verification mechanism and suggested the possibility of negligence, misinformation or grave procedural irregularities at the ground level.

Calling for immediate corrective steps, Saikia urged the Election Commission to order a comprehensive post-verification review of the electoral rolls in Nazira.

He demanded strict scrutiny of false reporting, erroneous data entry and lapses in accountability, while stressing that the final rolls must ensure that no community or group is selectively or disproportionately affected.

He also sought stronger supervision of BLOs and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, and insisted that no voter’s name be deleted without proper notice, a fair hearing and a reasoned order by a competent authority.

Emphasising that the right to vote is a cornerstone of democracy, Saikia said it must be safeguarded without compromise.

–IANS

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