Fear, confusion in Bihar villages as locals struggle to prove citizenship amid voter review: Report
Patna: As Bihar undergoes the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming elections, fear and confusion are reportedly gripping rural residents who say they lack the documents required to prove their citizenship—despite holding multiple government-issued IDs.
In Samastipur district’s Malti Bedaulia village, Ram Sevak Paswan, a daily wage labourer, finds himself in a troubling situation. “I never thought the day would come when I would have to prove my citizenship, decades after my birth,” The New Indian Express quoted him as saying. Despite possessing a voter ID, Aadhaar card, MNREGA job card, and Ayushman health card, none of these are accepted as valid proof of citizenship under the current voter verification process.
Paswan, who lives in a hut on his employer’s land, says he has no land of his own to claim for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to build a pucca house. His wife, Shanti Devi, added, “We are both illiterate and have no birth certificates. How will we prove that we are citizens of this country? It’s the government’s responsibility to provide us with the documents.”
He also questioned the Aadhaar card’s role in the citizenship process. “If Aadhaar is required to open a bank account or for government school admissions, why is it not valid for proving citizenship?” he asked.
Lochan Mahto, another resident of Malti Bedaulia, claimed that no booth-level officer (BLO) has visited his home. “We have heard about the voter verification exercise. But to date, no official or booth-level agent has visited us to provide us with forms,” TNIE quoted him as saying. His wife, Savita Devi, expressed concern for their three children, who are enrolled in a local government school but lack birth certificates. “We shudder at the thought of losing our citizenship,” she said.
The situation is no better for others in the village, which falls under the Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency represented by Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai. With a population of about 5,000 and located just 7 km from Samastipur’s district headquarters, many villagers allege they have yet to receive the necessary voter verification forms.
In Rohtas district, Amrendra Pal of Dehri-on-Sone said the Election Commission’s claims of form distribution to all eligible voters are far from reality. “There are many discrepancies. Several genuine voters will be excluded from the voter list,” he claimed.
Similar fears were reported in Govindpur Devi Gaura village, where 32-year-old Musafir Manjhi, an unmarried and illiterate resident who has lost both parents, expressed concern over his inability to provide any valid documents, leaving him at risk of losing his citizenship.
However, the Election Commission maintained that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is "being implemented smoothly at the ground level" and clarified that "no changes have been made to the existing instructions." The poll body had issued directives on June 24 to initiate the SIR process in the state, aimed at removing ineligible names and ensuring that only eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll.
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Shop owner shot at in Delhi's Nizamuddin
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New Delhi (PTI): A shop owner sustained bullet injuries after a group of men opened fire at him in the Nizamuddin area, police said on Saturday.
The incident occurred around 11 pm on Friday after which the injured was rushed to a hospital where he is undergoing treatment, a senior police officer said.
"The shop owner had rented the premises to someone. Around 15 days back, he got the tenant to empty the shop, which might have led to the incident. The matter is being probed," the officer said.
