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Muslim names deleted from electoral rolls in
UP
By MG correspondent, Rampur
A large number of Muslim votes were
found to be deleted from the voters list that was prepared by the UP
government in Thakurduwara Assembly segment in Rampur. Names of more than
fifteen thousand Muslims were found deleted from the electoral rolls ahead
of the forthcoming elections. As if that was not enough, senior state
officials were also found guilty of adding more than 20000 people
belonging to the majority community without following the procedures and
in disregard of the directives of Election Commission and the Supreme
Court. The Election Commission on 28 September ordered suspension of four
senior officials and transfer of ten others in Uttar Pradesh for
dereliction of duty.
Complaints were received by the Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh to
review the programme of electoral photo identity cards with regard to
irregularities in the summary revision of electoral rolls of Thakurdwara
and Unnao.
Congress member of the Parliament Begum Noor Bano had complained to the
Election Commission following the disappearance of a large number of
Muslim names from the voters list. It was the amazingly large number of
absence of names from the lists that prompted her to lodge a formal
complaint with the Election Commission. She told MG that it were repeated
complaints from the people of the area that prompted her to check the
facts herself. She added that it was large magnitude of the problem that
forced her to take immediate action and lodge a formal complaint with the
Election Commission.
Several people even in Rampur city have also complained of similar
deletion of their names from the latest voters list. Dr Waqqas, a local
physician, says that when he went to the election office to collect his
electoral identity card, to his amazement he found that his name was
missing from the list. He added that though he and his brothers were
voting for last several years their names were missing from the list. The
list included the names of his father and mother only from their house.
Several others have also made similar complaints.
According to the Election Commission Secretary JK Rao, ‘ the commission
is of the view that such large scale violation and disregard of existing
rules and provisions could not have been carried out in such a reckless
and cynical manner without the involvement and active knowledge of senior
officers concerned including the district election officer-cum-district
magistrate of Moradabad at the time when this revision was carried out.
The commission has directed the state chief secretary to suspend KS Gupta,
who is currently a special secretary to the UP government and who was the
District Election Officer-cum-District Magistrate, Moradabad at the time
of revision process. Other officials whose suspension has been ordered by
the election commission are KR Singhal Electoral Election Officer-cum-sub
divisional magistrate (Thakurdwara); DK Sinha, the then tehsildar-cum-assistant
electoral registration officer, Thakurdwara and Mr Satyander Prakash, Naib
Tehsildar, Thakurdwara. The Commission also ordered the transfer of 10
other district officers before 6 October. It has also ordered a special
revision of electoral rolls of the Thakurdwara constituency with reference
to 1 January 2002 as qualifying date.
The same sort of complaints were filed from another district, Unnao, near
Lucknow, but the EC team found out that there were no such proof of
similar dereliction there.
Such complaints are not uncommon. Similar complaints have often been heard
from different places. But it was the first occasion when such misuse of
electoral machinery has been done in blatant violation of Election
Commission directives and the Constitution.
But it is unlikely that this has been done by a few disgruntled officers.
Involvement of several officials in the same set-up points out some
nefarious planning in this respect. Extensive investigation is needed to
bring such act to a halt. q |
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