Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, who also serves as the District Election Officer (DEO), on Friday dispelled rumours surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and asserted that no votes had been deleted by the authorities so far. He warned of strict legal action against anyone found intentionally spreading malicious rumours or disinformation regarding the electoral roll revision.
According to the DC, it had come to the administration's attention that 'false and misleading information' was being circulated by certain media outlets, claiming approximately six to seven lakh votes had been deleted in the district as part of the SIR exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Terming the reports 'baseless, false and far from the truth,' Jain clarified that the six to seven lakh votes being discussed had not been deleted, but were rather 'unmapped.'
Clarifying there was a significant difference between 'unmapped voters' and 'deletion of votes,' he said the former simply meant that the voters' names existed on the electoral rolls but had not yet been mapped to specific booths or electoral layouts due to mapping parameters and technical rules set by the ECI. Jain pointed out that a comprehensive and multi-phase procedure established by the ECI is followed before even a single vote is deleted.
The DC said booth-level officers (BLOs) were working on re-verification of each and every voter, and will conduct a door-to-door survey from June 25. The BLOs will visit homes of mapped as well as unmapped voters to fill out enumeration forms. He said all voters will have ample opportunity to submit necessary documents during the claims and objections period to secure their inclusion in the draft electoral roll. He clarified that if a voter is considered for deletion, a formal notice is issued to the individual, followed by a speaking order passed by the electoral registration officer (ERO) or additional ERO.
Jain urged all media houses, social media accounts, and digital influencers to refrain from spreading unverified information that creates unnecessary panic and anxiety among residents.
