EC clarifies after Kejriwal, Jaishankar, Advani get SIR letters
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that notices issued to voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls do not imply that their names will be deleted from the voter list. The clarification comes after several prominent political figures, including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal, were served notices over discrepancies in their details. They were among the nearly 32 lakh voters in the capital who were served with notices.
Discrepancy details
Who all have been served notices
Other prominent personalities served notices include Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran LK Advani, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and BJP MLA Kailash Gahlot.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Election Commissioner SS Sandhu are also on the list.
The Chief Electoral Officer's office later stressed that no voter's name can be deleted without giving them a chance to be heard and a proper speaking and appealable order.
Roll details
Draft electoral roll published on August 31
The draft electoral roll was prepared using details submitted by electors through Enumeration Forms to Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
It was published on August 31 and is accessible on the CEO Delhi website, at Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) offices, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) offices, and polling station locations.
The SIR exercise, the ECI said, aims to ensure that "no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll."
Notice purpose
What about the notices sent to electors?
Notices are being sent to electors whose entries could not be linked with the previous electoral roll revision or have "logical discrepancies."
The CEO's office clarified that these system-generated notices are meant to correct data in ECINET and do not automatically lead to name deletions.
It also said there was "no existential crisis" arising from the notices, as reported in social media.
Electors can respond by submitting documents to the concerned ERO or BLO.
Roll finalization
Final electoral roll to be published on November 4
The process of disposing of these notices is expected to be completed by October 29.
Eligible electors will be included in the final electoral roll, which will be published on November 4.
New applicants who attain the age of 18 years on or before October 1 can also apply through Form-6.
Form-6 is used for the inclusion of names in the electoral roll.