Draft electoral roll published in Kerala as part of SIR; over 24 lakh names removed
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The draft voters’ list prepared as part of the SIR of the electoral roll in Kerala was published by the ECI on Tuesday, where over 24 lakh names have been removed.
Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar, addressing a press conference, said the draft list has been published on the Election Commission’s website and copies have also been handed over to political parties.
As many as 2,54,42,352 voters have been included in the draft list, while the names of 24,08,503 electors were removed after completion of the enumeration stage of the Special Intensive Revision.
Of the deleted names, 6,49,885 pertain to deceased persons, 6,45,548 voters were found to be untraceable, and 8,16,221 voters were identified as having permanently shifted from their registered addresses.
In addition, 1,36,029 duplicate voters and 1,60,830 voters falling under other categories were identified.
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Before the revision exercise began, there were 2,78,50,855 voters in the electoral rolls in Kerala. The percentage of names removed from the rolls stands at 8.65 per cent.
Kelkar said objections and grievances related to the draft list can be submitted till January 22, and the final electoral roll will be published on February 21.
Kelkar said that as part of the SIR, a voter mapping exercise was also carried out till December 18.
"We were able to complete 93 per cent of the voter mapping by December 18. Most of the unmapped cases were reported from urban and semi-urban areas such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Ernakulam," he said.
He said that the mapping exercise is still continuing.
After the mapping process is completed, electoral registration officers (EROs) will decide on hearings for non-mapped voters.
"Notices will be issued to voters to be heard. The hearings will be decentralised so as not to cause inconvenience to the public," he said.
He said the notices would contain detailed instructions, including the reasons for the hearing and the documents to be produced, and would be served through booth-level officers.
Responding to queries on the high number of untraceable voters, Kelkar said booth-level officers had visited the addresses three times to serve enumeration forms but were unable to locate the voters.
"We made all efforts to trace the voters as directed by the Election Commission," he said.
Kelkar said those whose names are not included in the draft list will have to submit fresh applications for inclusion in the electoral roll.
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Hemant Karkare dying at hands of Kasab ‘Karmic Justice’: Shefali Vaidya on Col. Purohit’s promotion
Shefali Vaidya’s ‘karmic justice’ remark on Hemant Karkare sparks controversy.
Columnist Shefali Vaidya said that the death of former ATS chief Hemant Karkare was “almost karmic justice,” while expressing support for the promotion of Shrikant Purohit.
In the post, she wrote, “Col Purohit to be made Brigadier! This is the least Indian Army could do to restore the honour of an officer who was wrongly accused, framed on false charges, tortured beyond imagination and lost many years of his life thanks to anti-national, evil Congress.”
She further stated, “the way Maharashtra ATS Hemant Karkare died at the hands of Kasab was almost karmic justice, for having tortured Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and others in the fake Hindu terror case. Ditto for disgraced cop Parambir Singh!”
Her post came after reports that Colonel Purohit, who was acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case last year, has been approved for promotion to Brigadier.
Defence sources cited by Indian Express had indicated that less than a month after his retirement was put on hold by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), he has been approved for promotion to Brigadier.
According to the report, he will now continue in service for at least two more years, up to the age of 56, which is the retirement age for Brigadiers, compared to 54 for Colonels.
Purohit had reportedly approached the AFT, stating that the 17-year-long trial had affected his career progression and denied him the opportunity to be considered for promotions.
Though he was granted bail in 2017, he remained under a Discipline and Vigilance (DV) ban, which was lifted in July 2020. Due to this, his promotion to the rank of Colonel was reportedly withheld in 2021.
The controversy around remarks on Karkare is not new.
Earlier, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee had highlighted instances of social media users allegedly making derogatory comments about the slain officer.
Hemant Karkare, a 1982-batch IPS officer, served as the chief of the Mumbai ATS and led the investigation into the 2008 Malegaon blasts. He was killed in action on November 26, 2008, during the 2008 Mumbai attacks while responding to terrorist activity near Cama Hospital. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra in 2009.
According to the Mumbai Police chargesheet, Karkare, along with Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kamte and Inspector Vijay Salaskar, was killed in an exchange of fire with Pakistani terrorists, including Ajmal Amir Kasab and Abu Ismail Khan.
The officers were ambushed near Rang Bhavan Lane while moving towards Cama Hospital.
According to a report by India Today, BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur had earlier claimed that Karkare died as a result of a “curse,” while Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar had alleged that an “RSS-linked cop” was responsible for Karkare’s death, citing claims from a book by S.M. Mushrif.
