Assam Congress alleges Form 7's bulk submission sans reasons, details

Guwahati: Congress on Wednesday raised the issue of alleged bulk submission of Form 7 without providing any specific reasons and details under the special revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam and requested urgent intervention of the chief electoral officer (CEO) over the matter.

The party has also requested a compiled list of submitted Form 6, 7 and 8 from the CEO. Form 7 is used in case a voter has died and the families use it for deletion of the name. Form 8 is used for address changes or corrections, and Form 6 for individuals who have turned 18 or missed registering their names earlier.

In a letter to the CEO, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi said, "The Election Commission of India has initiated the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in various states/UTs. The draft roll has been published, and the period for filing claims and objections is approaching its conclusion. During this period, electors and authorised booth level agents of recognised political parties are entitled to submit Form 6 (inclusions), Form 7 (objections/deletions) and Form 8 (corrections), subject to proper verification and undertakings where applicable."


He added, "It has come to our notice that several thousand Form 7 applications have been submitted to DEO/SDM/ERO/BLO under your jurisdiction. Most of these forms are pre-printed with typed details of electors and illegible details of objectors. This is a clear violation of ECI rules. Upon local level query with concerned officials and physical visits to these offices, it is observed that a large number of these forms have been submitted in bulk by unverified persons..."