New Delhi [India], September 29 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday slammed the Election Commission (ECI), terming the manner of deletion of voters’ names from the electoral rolls by the Commission as "arbitrary" and "shameful."
Speaking to ANI, she questioned the manner in which electoral authorities had processed voter deletions and verification procedures under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
"The question is how these names were struck off and in what arbitrary manner people have been made to stand in queues. Over 13 crore people's names have been removed from the voter list and placed under scrutiny. You are casting doubt on the entire citizenry that their votes might be unconstitutional. The Election Commission has acted arbitrarily, and letters from two election commissioners pertain to this very objection," she said.
Chaturvedi highlighted the burden imposed on ordinary citizens to prove their citizenship, highlighting that her own family was told to personally come and show citizenship documents.
She underlined that even though she has no objection to showcasing documents, the rising suspicion of citizens is questionable.
"My entire family has been told that you personally have to come and prove whether you are a citizen of the country or not; you will have to show documents. We have no objection to showing documents, but the way suspicion is being cast on the citizens: how far is that justified? Rahul Gandhi's visit is an example of how the entire country has been made to stand in queues. This is shameful," she said.
Earlier on Monday, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi visited Bela Estate in the national capital and interacted with the residents to understand their grievances. He targeted the ECI over the deletion of voter names there, alleging it was a "method of vote theft".
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged, "728 people live in Bela Estate on the banks of the Yamuna. After SIR, only one name remains in the voter list - the other 727 names have been struck off. These people have been living here for decades. They have already voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi elections. In 2023, their homes were demolished – but they didn't go anywhere; they're still right here."
Visiting the area, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he interacted with the residents to understand their grievances.
"Today I went to their jhuggi and heard directly from them what the Election Commission has done to them. On the phone with the SDM, I said exactly this – having a house or not has no connection to the right to vote. CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself has said that 'House Number 0' is for the homeless. Yet, 727 people's names have been struck off. This isn't SIR – this is a method of vote theft," he said. (ANI)
"You are casting doubt on entire citizenry": Priyanka Chaturvedi slams ECI over voter deletions under SIR
