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Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Tuesday wrote to Chief Secretary Dharmendra, alleging that some officers in the Revenue Department are undermining the electoral process by orchestrating large-scale voter deletions and obstructing the registration of new voters.
The Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary to initiate an enquiry into the alleged electoral roll manipulation and to constitute an investigation committee comprising retired officers or retired judges of the High Court or Supreme Court. Naming two specific officers, Lakshya Singhal, DM, South West Delhi and O.P. Pandey, SDM, Chanakyapuri, the Chief Minister instructed the Chief Secretary that the enquiry committee should summon ADMs, SDMs, AEROs, and BLOs operating under the jurisdiction of the named officers. The committee is to systematically investigate the entire decision-making and implementation chain regarding voter list manipulations, including any collusion with political parties. Furthermore, the investigation should determine whether such activities are being carried out by other officers as well. "If any officer is found guilty of compromising free and fair elections, the strongest possible action must be taken to preserve public trust in the electoral process," stated the Chief Minister in her letter. Earlier in the day, Atishi accused the central government of hatching a "huge conspiracy" against the people of Delhi to unfairly influence the upcoming assembly elections. "The central government is conspiring against the people of Delhi. To win the elections by unfair means, it is misusing government machinery to initiate large-scale voter deletions. As part of this conspiracy, 29 SDM-ADMs in Delhi were transferred on October 28, and subsequently, orders were issued to carry out mass voter deletions. Instructions are now being relayed from SDM offices to AEROs and BLOs, who are being given voter lists identifying Aam Aadmi Party supporters for deletion," Atishi claimed during a press conference on Tuesday. She urged AEROs and BLOs to resist such directives, stating, "I appeal to all AEROs and BLOs: if any officer is pressuring you to carry out these deletions, record their instructions and send them to me. Expose this conspiracy to subvert democracy so that strict action can be taken against these officers." (ANI)
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