The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Show-cause notice to election officials for mass deletions in southern districts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 04, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Show-cause notice to election officials for mass deletions in southern districts

By Our Madurai Bureau

MADURAI, FEB. 3. Notices have been served on Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) in the southern districts, asking them to furnish reasons for mass deletion of voters' names in the rolls used in the last Lok Sabha election.

The show-cause notices, dated December 16 and sent by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), asked the EROs to file a report on the total number of names deleted and furnish a "satisfactory explanation."

The notices have been sent on the basis of the findings of the Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, P.J. Thomas, who was deputed by the Election Commission to go into the complaints of deletions. An official in Tirunelveli said the Chief Election Commissioner would view the flaws serously.

Punishment

"The officials, who are found responsible for the flaws, would have to face 17 (A) charges, which would result in a cut in increments for three years and affect the individual's promotion," another top official said.

An ERO in one of the southern districts said, "After receiving the notice on December 21, I sent a reply to the CEO saying I took the utmost care in preparing the draft electoral rolls as per the norms of the Election Commission. Besides refusing to accept bulk applications from voters or political parties, I took extreme caution in the scrutiny of applications and existence of suspicious names in the voters' list."

Show-cause notices have also been sent to two Deputy Collectors in Madurai district who served as AROs. An official claimed that this was merely departmental action.

Notices have been served on the EROs, who served in the Dindigul, Palani and Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituencies and who have since been transferred. Notices have also been served on a former Sub-Collector and a former Revenue Divisional Officer of Ramanathapuram district for deletion of names in the rolls of the Paramakudi, Mudukulathur, Ramanathapuram and Kadaladi Assembly segments.

Two AROs in the rank of Revenue Divisional Officers received the notices recently in Kanyakumari district. They are yet to file their replies.

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