Voters at SIR hearings in Hyderabad said they were being asked for decades-old documents despite submitting Aadhaar, PAN and voter ID details. The complaints have prompted Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and political parties to seek more time and safeguards against wrongful deletions.
‘I was not even born in 1987. Where am I supposed to get such a document from?’ That question from a Telangana voter captures the growing confusion around the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, with residents served SIR notices struggling to understand what documents they must produce to protect their names on the voter list.
The controversy has also reached the political level, with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy seeking more time from the Election Commission and warning that eligible voters must not be removed during the revision exercise.
At hearings in Hyderabad, voters said they were being asked to produce documents dating back several decades to establish their identity, date of birth and address. Some questioned why government-issued documents such as Aadhaar and PAN cards, as well as existing voter records, were allegedly not sufficient for the verification process.
VOTER ASKS: ‘WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET SUCH A DOCUMENT?’
One voter, Sai Kanmudraj, said he was asked to produce a document dating back to 1987, even though he was not born at the time.
“I was not even born in 1987. Where am I supposed to get such a document from?” he asked.
Kanmudraj said officials had initially indicated that different documents could be submitted, but later told him that Aadhaar and PAN cards were not being accepted for the particular verification requirement.
“The government issued me this Aadhaar card. The government issued me this PAN card. If neither of these is accepted, where am I supposed to get another document from?” he asked.
He also questioned why voter ID and bank-related documents could not be used, arguing that ordinary citizens should not be expected to produce records from decades ago if such documents were never issued to them.
“I have only one request to the government whether it is Aadhaar, PAN, a bank passbook or any other document, please accept it,” he said.
‘WHAT MORE DO THEY WANT FROM US?’
Another woman who received an SIR notice said she had repeatedly voted at the same polling booth but was now being asked to provide additional proof of her identity and address.
She said her father was no longer alive and that she had been asked to establish the address mentioned in the records. According to her, she had already submitted her Aadhaar card, but officials were allegedly seeking additional documents, including bank-related proof.
“My Aadhaar card has my number and all the details. It is complete proof. What more do I have to submit?” she questioned.
She said she had also submitted her voter ID but was told it could not be accepted for the requirement being raised.
The woman said she had passed her Class 10 examination decades ago, but the certificate did not carry her photograph, leaving her unsure about what additional document would satisfy the verification process.
“I have already submitted one proof. What more do they want from us?” she asked.
She was asked to return for further verification and photography, adding to the uncertainty over what documents she would ultimately need to submit.
OFFICIALS SAY NOTICES ARE PART OF VERIFICATION
An official involved in the exercise said notices were being issued and hearings conducted as part of the verification process.
G Vasanth Kumar, In-charge Assistant Municipal Commissioner and ARO, said around 360 notices had been issued for the day’s proceedings.
According to the official, the exercise covers categories including ASDD entries, no-mapping cases and discrepancies. Figures cited during the hearing put the number of cases in the relevant categories at around 3,760 to 3,786, along with 2,856 discrepancies.
Voters receiving notices are being called for hearings and are required to submit documents prescribed by the Election Commission for verification.
REVANTH SEEKS MORE TIME FROM ECI
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has raised concerns over the scale of the exercise and its possible impact on voters.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Revanth sought an extension of around four weeks for the claims and objections process. He also asked for additional time for voters to respond to notices, wider dissemination of the draft electoral rolls and helpdesks, particularly in urban areas.
According to the figures cited by the Chief Minister, Telangana had around 3.38 crore electors as of June 10, of whom nearly 73.39 lakh entries, or around 21.7 per cent, had been classified under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate categories.
Revanth expressed concern that voters who had only temporarily moved could potentially be treated as permanently shifted.
At a public meeting in Hyderabad earlier this month, he had also urged Congress workers and leaders to visit households, verify voter details and ensure that eligible voters were not deleted.
The Chief Minister alleged that genuine voters could be removed in the name of SIR and said Telangana would not allow eligible voters to be excluded from the electoral rolls.
BRS: ‘NOT A SINGLE ELIGIBLE VOTER SHOULD BE DELETED’
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi has also raised concerns over the exercise, while supporting the removal of dead, duplicate and bogus entries.
BRS spokesperson Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy said, “Our stand is very clear: we want to make sure that the votes of the people who are dead, people who are carrying duplicate votes, people with bogus votes they must be deleted from the electoral rolls.”
At the same time, he said the Election Commission must ensure that “not a single eligible voter should be deleted.”
Reddy cited an example from Banjara Hills, claiming that the number of voters registered at a commercial building increased from 19 before the revision to 44 afterwards.
“When we see these sort of anomalies that defy logic, there is definitely something wrong going on in the entire exercise, raising serious questions of collusion,” he said.
He also said large urban areas such as Hyderabad have voters whose forms may not yet have been collected because of various reasons.
“The focus of the Election Commission should be on migrants and tenants to guarantee that no legitimate citizen is robbed of their vote,” he said.
CONGRESS DEMANDS DEADLINE EXTENSION
Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav also questioned the scale of the SIR exercise and called for more time and assistance for voters.
“Nearly one-third of Telangana’s population has come under scrutiny in the SIR exercise, with over 94 lakh voters flagged as ASDT. This raises serious concerns about the transparency of the process,” he said.
Yadav said many voters served notices belonged to economically weaker sections and slum communities and needed adequate time and assistance to respond.
“We demand an extension of the SIR deadline and insist that no eligible voter in Telangana should be deleted from the electoral rolls without proper verification and an opportunity to respond,” he said.
