Thorough verification of voters lists ordered following BJP complaints

Hyderabad: Giving further credence to complaints about lackadaisical preparation of voters lists, Chief Election Officer Vikas Raj, on Friday issued instructions to district electoral officers to follow up on 14 complaints filed by BJP leaders and treat the issue as “most important and urgent.”

In his letter to the DEOs on Saturday, Vikas Raj listed 13 complaints received by his office, and one submitted by the BJP to the Central Election Commission in New Delhi and asked the officials to take action and submit action taken reports. He said allegations about “serious discrepancies” were made by the BJP in its submission to the CEC “in preparation of draft electoral roll in the state…”

He instructed the DEOs to “thoroughly verify the contents of the complaint raised and take necessary corrective measures following the due procedure as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of lndia.” He said action taken reports must be submitted by September 19 to his office by the DEOs.

In a September 4 dated letter to the CEC office, Vikas Raj had said that some 4,000 voters were left out of the rolls despite three electoral roll revisions in just one gated community in Serilingampally constituency, as complained by the BJP.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has been pursuing the issues relating to bogus voters, large number of people being left out of the lists, and hundreds of names listed under a single address among other issues.