Hyderabad, May 15 (Maxim News): Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, TPCC, chief Mahesh Kumar Goud on Friday alleged that large scale voter irregularities took place in 14 States during the Special Intensive Revision, SIR, process and claimed that the West Bengal elections were a major example of alleged voter manipulation.
He further alleged that Union Ministers Bandi Sanjay Kumar and G. Kishan Reddy won elections in Telangana using “fake votes”.
Mahesh Kumar Goud demanded that the SIR process in Telangana should continue throughout the year instead of being completed in haste, pointing out that there are currently no immediate elections in the State.
The TPCC chief also insisted that Booth Level Officers, BLOs, must conduct at least three rounds of physical verification before making any changes in the voter list.
Congress Leaders Meet CEO Over SIR Concerns
The TPCC chief, along with senior Congress leaders, met Telangana Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy and submitted a detailed memorandum raising concerns over the SIR process.
The meeting came after the Election Commission released the schedule for the third phase of the SIR exercise in 16 States and three Union Territories, including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mahesh Kumar Goud said the Congress party urged the Election Commission to ensure complete transparency in the revision process.
The Congress delegation requested that the exercise be conducted in a phased manner over one and a half to two years, citing the addition of nearly 1.2 crore voters over the last 25 years.
The party also demanded that Census duties and SIR responsibilities should not be assigned to the same officials to avoid administrative pressure and errors.
Congress leaders sought both soft copies in OCR and Excel formats and hard copies of the 2002 and 2025 voter lists for recognised political parties.
Congress Demands Safeguards Against Vote Deletions
The TPCC chief said the party demanded a minimum one month period for objections and responses to notices during the revision process.
Congress leaders also insisted that written notices should be issued at least seven days before deleting any voter from the rolls.
The memorandum stressed that BLOs must carry out field level verification through at least three house visits along with geo tagged photographs instead of relying solely on software based verification.
The Congress delegation further demanded that appointments and training of Booth Level Agents, BLAs, should be completed before the verification process begins.
The party raised concerns over possible misuse of Form 7 applications for bulk vote deletions and demanded strict safeguards to prevent such irregularities.
Congress leaders also sought timely sharing of ASD, Absent, Shifted and Dead, voter lists with political parties to avoid wrongful deletions.
The memorandum requested that all SIR related records should be preserved at ERO and DEO levels for at least five years for transparency and accountability.
Special Focus On Vulnerable And Migrant Voters
The Congress delegation urged the Election Commission to organise special awareness programmes to protect the voting rights of SCs, STs, minorities and economically weaker sections.
The party also requested voting rights through affidavit based verification for people who migrated to Telangana after 2002 and participated in at least two elections.
Mahesh Kumar Goud warned that officials who delete votes without proper notice or violate election guidelines should face strict disciplinary action.
The TPCC chief maintained that the SIR process must strengthen democracy and not become a tool for politically motivated voter deletions. (Maxim News)
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