Guwahati/ Morigaon: Faridud Eunush is among six voters in his household in Assam’s Morigaon district, but three of them have been shown as having ‘shifted’ from their address, according to a notice received from authorities during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the state.
Shocked to find their names marked as ‘shifted’, Eunush and his siblings attended a hearing on Thursday with documents to prove they still reside in Mikirbheta circle of Morigaon Assembly constituency.
“The notice was most shocking. We three were shown as ‘shifted’, while the rest of the family remained residents of the same address,” Eunush said. “But more concerning was the fact that the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) refused to tell who had filed the complaint against us. He said we would have to file an RTI application to know the complainant’s name, which we submitted immediately,” he claimed.
Like Eunush and his siblings, thousands across the state have reportedly received notices based on applications filed through Form 7, which deals with proposed inclusion or deletion of names from the existing electoral rolls.
Many claimed that they received notices which showed them as marked ‘death’ even as they appeared in flesh and blood at their hearings.
By using Form 7, one can request for deletion of own’s name for any of three reasons – permanently shifted, already enrolled or not Indian citizen.
Similarly, any voter of that constituency can apply for deletion of names of others on basis of any of five reasons – death, under age, absent/ permanently shifted, already enrolled, or not Indian citizen.
However, the large number of notices issued this year has triggered apprehensions of misuse of the provision for vested interests, especially with the Assembly elections scheduled within the next couple of months. The official said that instances have come to light where the same complainant has filed applications for deletions of names of several persons in the same constituency.