New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer on Monday clarified that Cabinet ministers can be treated as ordinarily resident in the constituency where they would have otherwise been residing, even if their official duties require them to stay elsewhere, amid reports and political claims over the enrolment of ministers at addresses other than their current place of residence.
The CEO cited Section 20(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, under which persons holding offices declared by the President are deemed to be ordinarily resident in the constituency where they would have been ordinarily resident but for holding such office. Cabinet ministers of the Union or a state are among the offices covered by a 1960 presidential notification.
The clarification came as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Delhi's electoral rolls entered the claims and objections phase. The CEO said names of public representatives and other prominent persons earlier flagged in the electoral database were included in the draft roll so that supporting documents could be collected during the claims and objections period.
The poll authority also reiterated that issuance of a notice does not mean deletion of an elector's name. Notices have been generated for voters who could not be linked with the electoral roll of the last SIR or whose records showed logical discrepancies.
No name can be deleted without an opportunity of being heard and a proper speaking and appealable order, the CEO said. Electors can submit replies and documents before the concerned ERO or AERO.
The disposal of notices and claims will continue till October 29, while the final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on November 4.
Meanwhile, 92,284 Form-6 applications were received between August 31 and September 20, taking the total received since the start of the exercise to 304,684. Form-8 applications stood at 33,353 during the period, taking the cumulative figure to 294,121.
Additional AEROs deployed to expedite claims, while special camps will be held on September 27 and for marginalised groups on September 23-24.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.