New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- Several prominent political leaders, government officials and public figures are among millions of Delhi voters who have received notices during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, BJP veteran LK Advani, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia are among the prominent names flagged during the verification exercise. The Election Commission has identified discrepancies in voter records under two broad categories - cases where an elector could not be mapped to earlier electoral-roll records and cases involving what have been termed "logical discrepancies" in the information submitted.
The notices are intended to give voters an opportunity to verify their details and establish their eligibility. Receiving such a notice does not by itself mean that a person's name will be removed from the electoral roll. Among those flagged is Jaishankar, whose name appeared in the list of electors requiring verification. His wife, Kyoko S Jaishankar, was also among those who received a notice. Former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and CBI Director Praveen Sood are also on the list. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was also issued a notice after a discrepancy was detected in her electoral details. The issue related to the age difference recorded between her and her parents. After she submitted the required documents, the discrepancy was verified and cleared.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and members of his family have also received notices as part of the exercise. The electoral authorities are seeking verification of the relevant voter information and documents. Other prominent names flagged during the exercise include BJP veteran LK Advani, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj and former Delhi BJP chief Virendra Kumar Sachdeva. The list also includes senior officials and former officials, among them Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the Prime Minister's principal scientific adviser Ajay Kumar Sood and former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya.
The verification exercise has covered a large section of Delhi's electorate. More than 33 lakh voters have been identified for notices over discrepancies in their electoral information, while the draft roll has also seen a substantial number of names excluded pending verification and the claims-and-objections process. Election authorities have clarified that the purpose of the SIR process is to check the accuracy of electoral records and provide affected voters an opportunity to submit documents or correct their details. The issuance of a notice is therefore part of the verification process rather than a final decision on a voter's eligibility.
The issue has nevertheless triggered political and legal debate, with concerns being raised over the transparency of the process and the basis on which voters have been categorised for verification. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition seeking greater transparency in the Delhi SIR process, including disclosure of the names of voters who received notices and the reasons for the notices.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.