SR of Electoral Rolls Being Used to Harass Voters, Says Sushmita Dev

GUWAHATI: Senior All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev on Monday met Assam’s Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel and alleged that the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls has turned into a tool for harassing genuine Indian voters across the state. 

Raising serious concerns over the process, Dev said the exercise was being misused through intimidation and abuse of legal provisions, and demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

Dev was accompanied by AITC Assam senior vice-president Dulu Ahmed and other party leaders. The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer, protesting what it described as large-scale misuse of Form 7, which allows objections to be raised against a voter’s citizenship.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Dev alleged that the Special Revision exercise was being used by the BJP to divert attention from its failure to effectively implement the NRC despite being in power both at the Centre and in Assam.

She claimed that in several Assembly constituencies, nearly 15,000 objections have been filed, many of which lack identifiable complainants. Citing an example, Dev said objections were raised even against the Trinamool Congress Nalbari district president, but during the hearing before the BDO, the complainant failed to appear. According to her, while the accused voters present themselves with valid documents, the absence of complainants exposes a deliberate and organised conspiracy. She added that if the BJP genuinely intends to identify foreigners, it should implement the NRC instead of harassing citizens through what she termed arbitrary procedures.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have projected infiltration as one of the biggest issues in the country, particularly in states like Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam. However, eviction drives alone will not solve the problem. The issue can be addressed only if the NRC process is properly notified and implemented. Despite having a so-called double-engine government, the BJP has failed to implement the NRC. The Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Assam Chief Minister have failed to keep the promises they made on the issue of handling foreigners. To hide this failure, the government has resorted to eviction drives and has now introduced the Special Revision of electoral rolls in Assam. I urge voters to take the SR process seriously and not treat it lightly. In cases of false objections, voters can file police complaints under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act. I have asked Trinamool Congress members to closely monitor the situation and to lodge police complaints wherever false objections are found against genuine voters,” Sushmita Dev said.

AITC Assam senior vice-president Dulu Ahmed also accused the BJP of pursuing communal politics under the guise of electoral roll revision. He claimed that in Barkhetri Assembly constituency alone, around 17,000 objections were filed, of which nearly 10,000 were against members of minority communities. Ahmed alleged that even Trinamool Congress Panchayat election candidates, including Rehena Begum and Jalaluddin Ahmed, have been targeted through false complaints, despite being Indian citizens.

The Trinamool Congress demanded a judicial inquiry into the entire Special Revision process and urged the Election Commission to ensure that no genuine voter’s name is deleted without strong documentary evidence. The party also called for immediate rejection of baseless and anonymous objections, warning that the sanctity of the democratic process must not be compromised for political gains. Reiterating its stand, the party said it would stand by any citizen facing harassment and continue its fight to protect democratic and constitutional rights.

Also Read: Six Years After Final NRC, Supreme Court Asks: Where Are the Identity Cards?