The demand for an independent investigation by senior officials into the deletion of the names of thousands of voters in Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency has gained momentum, since it could play a vital role in deciding the outcome of the closely-fought election in the constituency.
Former IAS officer M.G. Devasahayam has written to Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo, wondering why the Election Commission was reluctant to order an independent high-level inquiry wherein the affected parties could participate and present their case, since the CEO himself had, on the basis of a preliminary inquiry, admitted to the deletion of the names of 10,000 voters within a period of a few months.
“Deletion of 10,000 votes can easily decide the outcome. There is no point in just subjecting the local officials to an inquiry because they were involved in the deletion. The inquiry should be done by a senior official who could talk to those who were denied their voting right,” said Mr. Devasahayam.
Fishermen forum’s claim
The South Asian Fishermen Fraternity, a fishermen’s forum, alleged that the names of over 30,000 fishermen were deleted.
When the large-scale deletion was found, a group comprising religious, political and civil society representatives discussed the matter and came to the conclusion that they had been deliberately deprived of their voting rights.
Mr. Devasahayam said most of these voters were in the January 2019 list but were missing in the April list.
“Also, many voters were not issued booth slips. These factors indicate possible mischief by local officials. It is imperative, therefore, to have a high-level independent inquiry ordered immediately,” he said, adding that normally, supplementary rolls only carried additions, and no deletions were allowed.
While the CEO informed Mr. Devasahayam that he had directed the Collector to look into the matter and report, the latter contended that it would not be enough since the Collector had prejudged the issue.
