SIR notices leave voters miffed over ‘rigid’ proof rules

Hyderabad: The voters in the districts are vexed with the rigid rules in the notices served to them as they are refusing to submit the replies after rejection of documents and also are ready to forgo their vote to avoid the inconvenience.

The voters wanted the Election Commission of India to rectify the issues like change of surname of spouses and change of religion. The process of issuing notices is going on in the entire state and the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are collecting the details/proofs pertaining to the voters.

However, the BLOs are said to be clueless after the higher authorities like EROs stating that the documents given by the voters were not sufficient. The issue seems to be more with the name change of the spouses and those with the change of religion as their names were not matching with the 2002 SIR details.

A woman voter P Saritha (name changed) in the Suryapet district was married to K Srinivas and after the marriage the surname changed to K Saritha. While her name in the 2002 SIR was P Saritha, now it is K Saritha which does not match. After she was served the notice, she had submitted documents like Aadhaar card, caste certificate, bank account details, educational certificate, including SSC to PG, voter ID and also her mother’s ID. The BLO has reportedly told her that the documents submitted were not enough and wanted concrete evidence.

The voters argued that there is no uniformity in the approach of the election authorities. A voter from the Hyderabad city J Rishi submitted the SSC certificate for the mistake of father’s name in the 2002 SIR and the BLO accepted it as the proof.

The voters said that this situation arises when there is lack of clarity from the higher authorities. When the same document is accepted as proof in Hyderabad how can it be not accepted in the district, questioned Srinivas. The miffed voter said he will not submit any more documents and would forgo the vote and be ready for any consequences.

Another issue faced by the voters is the name change through religion change. A voter Manish from the LB Nagar constituency changed his religion and named himself as Moinuddin. However, the new name does not match his previous name in the 2002 SIR. Moinuddin was not sure what document he had to provide and he has been enquiring with the BLOs.

When asked, a senior official in the office of the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that these issues are categorised under the ‘logical discrepancies’ and can be resolved in the hearing with the ERO level. The official said that the booth level agents can also authenticate the genuineness of the voter. In case of the change of the religion, the official said that the name change has prescribed norms like gazette notification and these documents can be submitted for authentication.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K Chandrashekar

[email protected]

K Chandrashekar is an experienced content creator/journalist specialising in political and general reporting. With over two decades of writing expertise, he handles or contributes towards political, health and transport sectors. Chandrashekar has completed his post-graduation from SD Signodia College/ Osmania University (with a specialization in Commerce). When not immersed in writing, he/she can be found spending time listening to music. Chandrashekar is an accomplished writer with a passion for writing articles. With over 20 years of experience, he has honed her/his craft in various genres, including entertainment or crime or education. Chandrashekar's diverse family history and embracing cultures have enriched her/his writing with unique perspectives

Read More