Chennai: The DMK has approached the Madras HC to direct the Election Commission of India to appoint the central government officers to act as electoral registration officers and also booth level officers to re-check the entire voter list published on January 20, 2016.
Justice R. Subbiah before whom the petition filed by the DMK represented by its organization secretary R.S. Bharathi, came up for hearing, directed the ECI to file its response by February 4.
The petitioner also sought a direction to the ECI to verify the applications received after the publication of final electoral roll dated January 20, 2016, by causing field enquiry after due notice and in the presence of the petitioner’s party booth level agents in all assembly constituencies and publish comprehensive voters list after rectifying the errors.
Senior counsel P. Wilson appearing for the petitioner submitted that the population in 2011 was 7.21 crore, electorate in the year 2011 was 4.71 crore.
Therefore, the sudden increase of electorate in the year 2016 wherein the electorate was shown as 5.79 crore would show that there was an increase of 1.07 crore voters. It has to be seen whether there could be a rise in the electorate to the tune of 1.07 crore. If the unqualified electorate in 2011 between the age of 13 and 17 were added as electorate who would have attained qualifying age of 18 years as on January 1, 2016, there could be an increase of electorate to the extent of 50.56 lakh only.
However, the difference of unaccounted electorate namely 57.43 lakh causes much concern as they appear to be bogus voters. This mismatch clearly point out to multiple entries of voters in the electoral rolls besides the non-removal of voters who have died, who have shifted their residence and who have transposed to other areas, Wilson added.
He said it came to knowledge that the ruling party has set up a third party agency to include ineligible and bogus voters and to delete the names of known DMK sympathizers/voters and that the district election officers were forced by the ruling party functionaries to accept such inclusions /deletions given by the said third party agency. Therefore, the petitioner party sent representations to the ECI pointing out various discrepancies. But, there was no proper response, he said.
