New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal on Tuesday claimed that his name and that of his family members have been deleted from the draft SIR voter list of Uttar Pradesh despite their names being in the electoral roll of 2003 and them having deposited all required documents according to the guidelines.
Sappal claimed that his and his family members’ names were deleted because he shifted residence from UP’s Sahibabad constituency to Noida constituency.
The draft electoral roll for UP published on Tuesday after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) excludes 2.89 crore voters while retaining 12.55 crore, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa.
The 2.89 crore voters, or 18.70 per cent, of the 15.44 crore listed earlier could not be included in the draft list due to deaths, permanent migration or multiple registrations, he said at a press conference in Lucknow.
In a post on X, Sappal said, “We are informed that in SIR, there is no provision to record names of shifted voters! Means, if anyone has shifted residence to a new area, his/her name will be deleted!” Sappal said that the draft SIR Voter List for UP is out and “my name and my family members’ names are deleted”.
“Whereas: Our names were in 2003 voter list. Our names were also in last election’s voter list. Our parents names were also in 2003 voter list. We had deposited required documents as per SIR guidelines. We also have passports, birth certificates, Aadhar cards, matriculation certificates, bank accounts, property papers (sic),” he said.
“Moreover, I am not an unknown individual. I have worked as Joint Secretary to the Vice President of India and in Rajya Sabha Secretariat. I am also a member of Congress Working Committee and a familiar face on TV. Infact, I have also been a part of Congress delegations to Election Commission on SIR and other issues! The BLO is also familiar with it. Yet our names were deleted! (sic)” he said.
Sappal said the reason was that “we shifted our residence from UP’s Sahibabad constituency to Noida constituency”.
“And we are informed that in SIR, there is no provision to record names of shifted voters! Means, if anyone has shifted the residence to a new area, his/her name will be deleted! I am not alone, (sic)” the Congress leader said.
He claimed that there are crores of voters whose names have been deleted on the same grounds.
“Perhaps, I may get now get re-enrolled as new voter by filling Form 6. But how many will be able to do it? This is the reality of SIR! (sic)” he said.
Later, speaking with PTI Videos, Sappal said the larger concern is that nearly two crore voters who have changed their residence have had their names deleted.
“In my case, the form was personally submitted to the BLO, all the required documents were provided, and even a copy of the 2003 voter list was submitted,” Sappal said, adding that despite this, his name was left out as BLOs did not know what was to be done with voters who had shifted addresses.
The final electoral list will be published on March 6.
The opposition parties in UP have criticised the draft electoral roll after the SIR exercise. PTI ASK ASK KSS KSS
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