The controversy over Punjab's electoral rolls has intensified, with two-time Congress MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi claiming that his name, along with those of his family members, was missing from the draft electoral roll released as part of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. His name was later restored after officials attributed the omission to a technical error.
The development came only hours after BJP MP Raghav Chadha alleged that his name had been marked as "shifted" in the draft electoral rolls despite his voter ID being registered in Mohali. Chadha accused the AAP government of using the electoral system for political vendetta.
Gandhi confirmed that his family's names had been affected during the SIR process.
"I have been residing at this address since around 2000. I have contested three Lok Sabha elections and won two of them from this very house, which has been my permanent address in all official records. Despite this, my name, along with those of my family members, is missing from the electoral roll," he said.
According to the SIR process details, the Patiala MP's name was initially absent from the voter list but was later restored through the prescribed procedure.
Gandhi, however, said he had not personally received any notice.
He claimed that officials knew he was a sitting MP and that elected representatives fall under a category requiring additional safeguards before notices are issued.
Notices have meanwhile been served to his wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law.
Gandhi said the relevant information concerning his family members had not yet been mapped. Copies of the notices issued to his wife and other relatives are available.
Earlier on Thursday, Raghav Chadha, who moved from AAP to the BJP earlier this year, said his voter ID was registered in Mohali and questioned how his name could have been classified as shifted.
Chadha also referred to Paragraph 4(d) of the SIR guidelines, which he said includes MPs and MLAs among public representatives covered under a "protected list".
The AAP rejected Chadha's allegations, maintaining that the SIR exercise is conducted by the Election Commission and that the state government has no role in deciding which names are added to or removed from electoral rolls.
The party further accused its former leader of attempting to transfer his voter registration to Delhi through what it described as a "backdated process".
An Election Commission official, however, dismissed the allegation that any effort was being made behind the scenes to facilitate Chadha's inclusion in Delhi's electoral rolls.
The electoral rolls released under the SIR exercise are currently provisional. Voters can use the claims and objections process to report missing names or other discrepancies before the final electoral rolls are issued.
