Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday declared that his party would not permit the deletion of even a single genuine vote in the state during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Warning against any attempts to engineer "fake votes" in favor of a particular political party, Mann asserted that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers would remain stationed alongside Booth Level Officers (BLOs) at every polling booth across Punjab to monitor the exercise and prevent any irregularities.
Monitoring the Revision Process
Responding to a query, Mann stated that the SIR of electoral rolls is scheduled to commence on June 15 in Punjab. He emphasized that the Election Commission of India (ECI) should address concerns raised by all political parties regarding the process. "We do not want negativity to spread in Punjab that real votes are deleted and fake votes are created, or that votes of supporters of a particular party are removed while fake entries are added," Mann said. "We will monitor the SIR ourselves; our booth-level agents and volunteers will be present. The vote of an eligible citizen will not be deleted, and for this, we are in touch with the ECI," he added while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event.
Demand for Transparency
The Chief Minister stressed that the SIR should be conducted in a transparent manner. He urged the ECI to address any complaints raised by political parties promptly. "Concerns raised in several states regarding the deletion of genuine votes and inclusion of fake entries have created anxiety among citizens, making it imperative for the ECI to act with utmost responsibility and neutrality," Mann stated. He claimed that complaints have surfaced from different states about lakhs of genuine votes being deleted and manipulation in the verification process, but asserted that the people of Punjab would not allow such practices to occur in the state.
Clarifying AAP's Stand
Clarifying AAP's position on the revision of electoral rolls, Mann said, "Names of deceased individuals or those who have permanently shifted abroad after acquiring foreign citizenship should naturally be removed from voter lists, but no genuine resident of Punjab should face harassment or denial of voting rights under any circumstances." He further revealed that nearly 83 percent of voter mapping has already been completed in Punjab and urged citizens to actively participate in the verification process to safeguard their democratic rights.
Details of the SIR Exercise
Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra had earlier announced that under the SIR, booth level officers across Punjab will conduct door-to-door visits from June 25 to July 24 to fill voter forms. For this exercise, the entire election machinery has been deployed, including 24,453 BLOs and 2,476 supervisors. She further informed that training of BLOs and other preparatory arrangements related to the SIR exercise will be carried out from June 15 to June 24. The objective of the exercise, she said, is to ensure the inclusion of every eligible citizen in the electoral rolls and the deletion of ineligible persons from the voter list.
