The Hindu : BJP picks holes in final voter list

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 24, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

BJP picks holes in final voter list

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JAN. 23. The BJP has pointed out several discrepancies in the final list of voters published and demanded that the affected persons be given the right to appeal not only to Collectors, who are District Election Officers, but also to officers down the line.

At a news conference here on Friday, the State BJP president, N. Indrasena Reddy, and party spokesmen -- K. Laxman and S.V. Seshagiri Rao -- said the corrections which needed to be carried out in the lists were so large in number that one was at a loss to understand how it could be accomplished. Moreover, since voters from villages were not expected to go all the way to district headquarters to appeal to Collectors for inclusion of their names in the lists, village secretaries or MROs could be designated as the appellant authorities.

Mr. Reddy showed from voters' list of Malakpet Assembly segment, represented by him in the dissolved Assembly, deletion of names of genuine voters, including advocates and residents of apartments and colonies. He said thousands of people from Jillelaguda and Meerpet colonies in the constituency had applied for enrolment, but only a few hundred names figured in the final list. A totally false list of Jillelaguda had emerged, he said and demanded action against officials.

The BJP leader alleged that the Election Commission and officials down the line bowed to pressure from the Congress and Left parties while removing the names of 64 lakh voters and not entertaining eligible applicants. For reasons like not furnishing previous addresses or not having photo identity cards or marriage certificates, the applications were rejected.

Terming the whole exercise of revision of electoral rolls an eyewash, Mr. Reddy said officials did not make a serious effort by going door-to-door. The authorities concerned purposely did not furnish the deleted names to political parties.

Mr. Seshagiri Rao found fault with the Chief Secretary, Mohan Kanda, for his telephonic talk with the former CLP leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on the issue. He said the BJP did not have any objection to the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi's children joining the Congress.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh