India, July 2 -- Enumeration forms of over 7,600 voters were digitised on day one of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi on Tuesday, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also filing her form and urging people to participate in the exercise to strengthen democracy. The month-long door-to-door verification drive began with over 13,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) distributing enumeration forms and collecting the filled-up ones across the 70 Assembly segments in the capital. A total of 1,68,291 forms were distributed on day one and 7,605 completed forms submitted by the voters were digitised by the BLOs, said a statement of Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office. Also Read - Delhi court reserves verdict in wrestlers' sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan Delhi CEO Ashok Kumar appealed to all eligible voters to cooperate with the BLOs and accurately fill up the forms and submit it to them. The last date of filling up the SIR forms is July 29. In a post on X, the Delhi chief minister said that she filled and submitted the enumeration form with details of herself and her family. "Fill your enumeration form on time and submit it to your BLO. An accurate and up-to-date voter list is the foundation of a strong democracy. Let us fulfil our duty as conscious citizens and ensure our participation in this great 'yajna' of democracy," she said. Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh also submitted the completed enumeration form from the New Delhi constituency that he represents in the Assembly. Also Read - Migration, duplicate addresses complicate SIR exercise in Delhi's unauthorised colonies, slums The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi alleged that the SIR process lacked transparency. The SIR process has been riddled with controversies, with opposition parties launching protests and approaching courts against it. However, the Supreme Court in May upheld the constitutional validity of the SIR process. On Tuesday, 23 political parties, inluding AAP and Congress, sent a joint letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on the SIR process, the role of the Election Commission and other election-related issues. Meanwhiile, the BLOs in Delhi have been instructed to go door-to-door in the morning and evening hours, including on Saturdays and Sundays, when people are at home, officials said and added the door-to-door drive was largely smooth. Some voters, however, claimed that there were "hiccups" in filling up the forms. Also Read - Fire destroys goods worth crores at electronics store Nitin, a 26-year-old resident in Mandir Marg area, said he wanted to verify some details before filling it. "My name is not in the 2002 voter list. I will speak to my father and check the Election Commission Website for the 2002 electoral roll before filling and submitting the form," he said. In Ansari Nagar (West), some voters said that there was "confusion" regarding documentation and details to be filled in the forms. A BLO in the area explained to them that they should fill up the forms carefully, furnishing their details of 2002 SIR as well as their current voter list details. In an unauthorised settlement in Subhash Mohalla in North East Delhi, a BLO said that there were 15-20 houses carrying the same number because of division of larger plots into smaller ones. The recognised political parties in Delhi are also taking part in the door-to-door survey through their booth level agents (BLAs) to assist people in filling up and submitting the forms. The national capital has 13,033 polling stations across seven Lok Sabha and 70 Assembly constituencies.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.