Assam SR under fire: Oppn alleges misuse of Form-7, CM says genuine voters safe | Guwahati News

GUWAHATI: The Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Assam has become a political flashpoint, with opposition parties alleging harassment of genuine citizens through the “misuse of Form-7” — a legal provision that allows an elector to object to another’s inclusion or seek deletion of their own or another’s name due to death or change of residence.The state election department, in a public advisory, clarified that filing Form-7 does not lead to automatic deletion of names. Each objection is subject to a strict legal process, including field verification and serving notice to the elector concerned, who is given an opportunity to be heard before any decision is made. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, after returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, strongly defended the ongoing process, saying the notices are being served only to “miya” — Bangladesh-origin Muslim migrants — and not to indigenous communities.Sarma dismissed any controversy. “There is no debate over SR. Which Hindu family has received a notice? Which Assamese Muslim household has seen a notice?” he asked, adding, “We have to issue notices to miyas living here. There is nothing to hide. I am troubling them.”He said the notices were part of a broader tactic to keep alleged illegal immigrants under pressure. “They have to understand that at some level, people of Assam are resisting them. Otherwise, they will get a walkover. That’s why some will get notices during SR, some for eviction, some from border police (relating to citizenship),” he said.“We will do some ‘utpaat’ (disturbance), but within the ambit of law… we are with the poor and downtrodden, but not those who want to destroy our ‘jati’ (community),” he added.Opposition parties on Friday urged the election commission to ensure that no eligible voter is removed during the ongoing revision, alleging “misuse of Form-7”. They also sought an extension of the Feb 2 deadline for disposal of claims and objections.In a joint statement, Left parties — CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Forward Bloc and SUCI(C) — said Form-7 was being used to target minority voters. Congress, meanwhile, lodged a police complaint in Boko-Chhaygaon against local BJP leaders and officials over alleged unauthorised deletions and inclusions.The election department’s public advisory stated, “No name can be deleted from the electoral roll without following the prescribed legal procedure. Electors are advised not to be apprehensive and to cooperate with verification officials when contacted.”“Any elector whose name is proposed to be deleted will be duly informed and given full opportunity to present their case,” it added.The advisory urged electors to provide correct information while submitting applications under Forms 6, 7 and 8, warning that false declarations or knowingly retaining incorrect entries constitute offences punishable under law, including Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.Reassuring genuine voters, the department said the revision exercise aims to ensure a clean, accurate and inclusive electoral roll, and that no elector should feel apprehensive. Any person aggrieved by inclusion, exclusion or correction of entries may avail themselves of statutory remedies under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.Applications of all objections will be disposed of by Feb 2, and the final rolls will be published on Feb 10. The draft roll was published on Dec 12 last year.