Pune: Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee sought a two-month extension to file claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing Ganeshotsav and the short window voters have to respond to discrepancies.In a letter to chief electoral officer S Chockalingam on Wednesday, Congress secretary Sandesh Kondvilkar also sought postponement of the special hearing drives scheduled for Sept 19-20 and Sept 26-27 to Oct.The party has sought 15 days, instead of seven, for voters to submit documents and attend hearings. “They have started the process late. They can definitely delay it to ensure that no eligible voter is left out,’’ a Congress functionary said.The demands come ahead of the state election office’s plan to issue notices to 1,22,24,007 voters flagged during the revision. The notices are expected next week in Marathi and English, with voters allowed to upload supporting documents online or submit them through WhatsApp.The flagged voters include 62,48,281 with logical discrepancies and 59,75,726 whose names could not be matched with previous SIR records.Kondvilkar’s letter alleged that errors made by booth-level officers during the exercise were not adequately scrutinised by senior officials, adding to the confusion. The party sought publication of separate lists of dead, duplicate, shifted and untraceable voters, besides the list of voters whose names could not be matched during the exercise.It has also told election authorities to scrutinise alleged duplicate entries before requiring political parties or individuals to file separate deletion applications for each name.Civil society groups and the opposition have also questioned why notices and hearings should be scheduled during Ganeshotsav, when notices to all flagged voters were not prepared.The opposition has said that voters have already submitted age and residence proof to BLOs along with their enumeration forms and they should not be told to appear for another hearing if the documents can be verified from existing records.Congress sought three opportunities for voters to appear for hearings and said the presence of every family member should not be mandatory. It has proposed that one family member be permitted to sign the enumeration form on behalf of the household. Citizens expecting notices said that there is no clarity on how it will be done. “There should be enough awareness before they start sending the notices,’’ voter R R Rameshan said.Meanwhile, the state election office has said the notice and disposal process for flagged cases will continue till Oct 29. For prominent persons and holders of certain declared offices, EROs/AEROs will first seek documents through WhatsApp, email or a BLO visit.Other flagged voters can also submit documents electronically, while cases where the documents are inadequate will require a formal notice, acknowledgement and hearing before a decision is made.
