A CORRESPONDENT
DHEKIAJULI: Amid the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam, a fresh controversy erupted on Thursday at the Dhekiajuli Co-District Commissioner’s office in Bhutpara near Dhekiajuli, with Congress leader Batash Urang raising serious allegations of political interference in the exercise.
Hundreds of people assembled at the Dhekiajuli Co-District Commissioner’s office at Bhutpara after receiving notices from the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), issued on January 18, directing them to appear with documents to clarify allegations raised against their voter credentials by some local residents.
Notice recipients began arriving at the Dhekiajuli Co-District Commissioner’s office from 9 am on Thursday. Several locals told this correspondent that they were shocked to receive such notices, stating that their families had been registered voters for generations and that they possessed all necessary records related to their voting rights.
Addressing the media at the office premises, Batash Urang alleged that the ongoing SR process was being misused to target voters opposed to the BJP. He claimed that the exercise was being carried out under the direction of Dhekiajuli MLA and Cabinet Minister Ashok Singhal, and that the directives issued by the Election Commission of India were being selectively implemented to delete ‘anti-BJP voters’ from the electoral rolls. Urang further alleged that when voters appeared before election officials, their documents were not verified on the spot. According to him, officials only collected the notices and submitted documents, and in some cases did not return the notice copies. He added that voters were merely informed that their status would be communicated after February 2.
When asked about these allegations, officials at the District Commissioner’s office stated that the verification process was still in progress and that applicants would be informed of the outcome once the scrutiny was completed.
Terming the issue a ‘very serious matter,’ Urang appealed to conscious citizens to remain alert and vigilant so that no genuine voter is wrongfully deleted from the voters’ list.
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