Claims of 900 000 bogus voters on rolls
THE MUMBAI Congress this week made a sensational claim that around 900000 bogus voters may have sneaked into the city’s electoral rolls as preparations peak for the 2019 general elections.
Addressing the media, city Congress president Sanjay Nirupam showed evidence of how hundreds of names of the allegedly fake voters figure in electoral rolls in different assembly segments, making up the six Lok Sabha seats in the country’s commercial capital.
When contacted, an official from the Maharashtra State Election Commission said that the electoral rolls were not within its jurisdiction and were dealt with solely by the Election Commission of India (ECI), New Delhi.
However, joint chief election officer Anil Walvi said the responsibility of this rested with the district collectors and they would know the correct position.
According to Nirupam, the party’s investigations revealed how a single person had multiple voter IDS for different election booths in the same constituency.
“In some cases, the same person is shown under two different names, with differing ages, residing at two separate addresses and linked to different voting booths within the same constituency,” Nirupam said, showing proof.
In two sample constituencies alone, the party found multiple identities of several alleged voters, ranging from two to 11 identities, proving these were bogus voters.
With the draft electoral rolls expected to be finalised by January 31, he demanded to know whether the ECI and the concerned district collectorates would take action against these fake voters, so that the genuine voters were not deprived of their voting rights. | IANS