SIR: CEO Seeks Guidance From ECI on FRCs
According to official sources, the state government’s decision to issue FRC is likely to be challenged in courts on various technical grounds.
Hyderabad:Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy has reportedly decided to seek ‘clarification’ from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the Telangana government’s decision to issue Family Register Certificates (FRC) to ration card holders amid the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
According to official sources, the state government’s decision to issue FRC is likely to be challenged in courts on various technical grounds. To avoid future controversies, Sudarshan Reddy decided to write to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar seeking his guidance on the matter.
Though the Telangana government’s decision to issue FRC was inspired by the Karnataka government’s Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC), sources said Karnataka decided to issue PRC before the SIR phase rollout, while Telangana's decision comes amidst the SIR exercise.
“The ECI has already extended the deadlines for the various phases in Telangana. Compared to Karnataka, the decision to issue FRC was taken midway and almost when the Enumeration Phase was in the final stages,” a higher official said.
By Wednesday, officials had digitised 76.28 per cent of the 2.58 crore enumeration forms received in Telangana. Hyderabad, however, remained below 55 per cent with only 25 lakh forms digitised.
Sources also said the BJP strongly opposed issuing FRCs and built pressure on state poll officials to act. They said the BJP could challenge the state government’s decision on FRC in court.
“We don’t want to take any chances or leave scope for controversies. Since the CEC is the top authority on the SIR issue, a clarification is being sought regarding whether FRCs can be issued at this juncture. The response is expected from ECI by this month's end,” the official said.
The BJP has accused the state government of acting under the AIMIM's pressure and using the FRC to protect illegal vote banks during the ongoing SIR exercise. BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao alleged that the Congress government was trying to project the FRC as a valid document for 'undocumented people'.
During a videoconference to review the progress of the SIR exercise and the ongoing enumeration phase, Sudarshan Reddy said the SIR clean-up aims to create an error-free voter list and is unrelated to government schemes.
He instructed the DEOs and EROs to ensure random inspections of digitised Enumeration Forms and timely resolution of discrepancies; strengthen coordination among EROs, AEROs, BLO Supervisors, BLOs and BLAs.
“Ensure thorough verification of ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead & Duplicate) lists and complete the rationalisation of polling stations, wherever required, within the stipulated timelines and in accordance with ECI guidelines,” he said, adding that they should focus on improving the pace of digitisation in polling stations.