Congress writes to EC alleging mass deletion of voters by 'misuse' of Form 7, seeks probe

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday wrote to the Election Commission alleging mass deletion of names of eligible voters from the electoral rolls by BJP members through the "misuse" of Form 7 during the SIR process across several states and demanded registration of FIRs against them.

In a letter to the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal asked the poll body to initiate an urgent investigation into the "rampant misuse" of Form 7 during the ongoing 'claims and objections' phase of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and take action against all such individuals.

"We would like to draw this Commission's attention to a serious and grave concern that has been identified by voters, political parties and the media as well. This concern relates to eligible voters being wrongfully deleted during the claim and objection phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls," he said.

What is worrying and hence requires immediate intervention of the poll authority is the fact that media reports and party workers have identified individuals and members belonging to the BJP and found them to be using Form 7 to "wrongfully" delete voters from the final electoral roll, he said.

"These actions, if remained unchecked and not taken cognizance of by the

Commission, will not only embolden the BJP in their efforts to wrongfully gain electoral advantage but will also lead to the disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, especially those belonging to the backward, marginalised communities, who as per the media reports, have been made the target of these deletions through Form 7s," he alleged.

Venugopal claimed that the uniformity in format, timing, targeting of specific elector groups, and absence of mandatory particulars across states prima facie indicate the use of a centralised and coordinated mechanism for generating Form 7 applications for mass deletion of names.

"This even casts serious doubts over the sanctity of the entire SIR process being undertaken," he said in the letter.

"These reports and inaction from the Commission to address these concerns over

the systematic attempt to subvert the electoral roll revision process is quite worrisome," he alleged.

Venugopal demanded initiation of immediate corrective measures by instituting strict vigilance and real-time supervision over the voter deletion process, including monitoring of Form 7 applications, so as to prevent "arbitrary, mass or malafide" deletions of eligible electors from electoral rolls.

He also demanded framing and enforcing clear, uniform and stringent guidelines

regulating the issuance, filing, scrutiny and adjudication of Form 7 applications, including safeguards against misuse. He also called for enforcing mandatory verification protocols, and accountability mechanisms for officials involved in the process.

The Congress general secretary said the EC should utilize its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution and initiate an investigation into instances of misuse of Form 7 applications and the voter deletion mechanism.

Upon identification of deliberate false declarations or abuse of process, he said the EC should initiate appropriate legal action in accordance with law, including registration of FIRs wherever warranted.

He also demanded the release of complete, readily accessible and disaggregated data relating to Form 7 applications for all 12 states and UTs undergoing SIR, including the total number filed, accepted, rejected and pending, along with constituency-wise break-up for the relevant revision period, in the interest of transparency and electoral integrity.

Venugopal said the EC should treat this matter with the urgency it deserves and to take all necessary steps to ensure that the integrity of the upcoming state elections is maintained.