Lucknow, February 17 Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa on Tuesday rejected Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's allegations regarding large-scale irregularities in the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise, asserting that the use of Form 7 for deleting names is a statutory and legally mandated process.
Rinwa told reporters here that the entire exercise relating to the preparation and revision of electoral rolls is not an administrative arrangement but a legal process laid down under the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
"Form 7 has a clear legal basis and rationale. It is part of the statutory framework governing electoral roll revisions," he said.
Responding to Yadav's demand that the process involving Form 7 be scrapped, Rinwa explained that during every Special Summary Revision, a draft roll is first published and political parties and the public are given time to examine it. If any eligible voter's name is missing, Form 6 can be submitted for inclusion, while objections to any entry can be filed through Form 7 for deletion.
He said the draft roll in the current revision was published on January 6, after which electors could verify whether their names were included.
"The draft roll is prepared by booth level officers (BLOs), and errors are possible at that stage. The publication of the draft enables rectification through legally prescribed forms," he said.
On allegations that a large number of "unknown persons" were filing Form 7 applications to target voters from backward, Dalit and minority communities, as claimed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, the CEO said daily bulletins are being issued detailing the number of Forms 6 and 7 submitted by booth-level agents of political parties.
He said that lists of such applications are displayed daily at every booth and assembly constituency level and are also uploaded on the websites of the district election officers and the Uttar Pradesh CEO, ensuring full transparency.
"Anyone can verify who has filed Form 6 or Form 7," he said.
Rinwa clarified that any registered elector of the concerned assembly constituency can file Form 7. The applicant must provide his or her name, EPIC number, details of the person against whom the objection is being raised, the grounds for objection and signature.
He further said that no name is deleted from the voters' list without due process. Notices are issued both to the person filing the objection and to the elector whose name is sought to be deleted. An inquiry is conducted by the election officer concerned and a decision is taken only after giving an opportunity to present evidence.
Rejecting the SP's demand that corrections should be carried out solely by BLOs, Rinwa said while they prepare the draft roll, the subsequent process of inclusion and deletion through Forms 6 and 7 is a logical and legally compliant mechanism to rectify omissions or errors.
He also dismissed as incorrect the allegation that the vote of an SP MLA's wife from the Sikandarpur Assembly segment in Ballia district had been deleted, along with 126 other voters. "The MLA's wife's name has not been deleted," he said.
The CEO similarly rejected allegations of wrongful deletions in Sakaldiha, Babaganj, Bidhuna and Ballia assembly constituencies, terming them baseless.
Rinwa said five meetings have so far been held with political parties regarding the revision exercise, and they are regularly provided information, including when memoranda are submitted.
