AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi questions ECI over 'logical discrepancy' category in SIR exercise

Speaking to people in Hyderabad under AIMIM's door-to-door campaign for the SIR exercise, Owaisi urged the electors to prepare their documents correctly.

He said, "Those whose names did not appear in 2002 but are in the list of the 2024 parliament, their father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, and great-grandmother are being mapped and given to them. If someone's name is not in the 2002 voter list, they are also being told there to prepare their own documents and are also being guided in the matter of documentation."

Addressing the concerns over 'logical discrepancy,' he added, "For those people whose father and their age have a difference of fifteen years, the Election Commission is writing it in the anomaly. If someone has six children, they are being told that we do not include more than five. There is no law stating that a person with six children cannot cast their vote. Therefore, it is very important that we pay attention to this and prepare our documents correctly."

The 'logical discrepancy' category created a political row, especially in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where the Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), respectively, opposed it.

The issue was taken up in the Supreme Court, which directed the ECI to publish the names of people who have been categorised in the 'logical discrepancy' list in the gram panchayat bhawan, Taluka offices of every sub-division and ward-offices of urban areas.

In West Bengal, the apex court also permitted the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to deploy additional civil judges amid a shortage of officers to verify the huge number of objections under the 'logical discrepancy' category.

Meanwhile, the SIR exercise in Telangana will begin on June 15, with publication of draft rolls scheduled for July 31. The claims and objections period will go on from July 31 to August 30, and the final electoral rolls will be published on October 1. (ANI)