Shillong, Nov 12:The Congress wanted a major role for headmen in voter registration processes.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) working president, Deborah Marak and the secretary, Manuel Badwar, said if the headmen are involved, it will help in purifying the electoral roll.
Badwar said, “During a recent meeting to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)… since we don’t have a Panchayati Raj system here, we told the chief electoral officer (CEO) on the need to give more power to the Dorbar Shnong in the voter registration processes
He said the suggestion was also supported by other party representatives present during the meeting that the Dorbar Shnong’s authority be formally recognized in the rules governing voter registration.
“The CEO promised us that he will take it up very seriously to give more power to the Dorbar Shnong to ensure the infiltration and so on, and the voters who are not eligible to be voters should not just get through and be able to vote in Meghalaya,” Badwar said.
Badwar pointed out instances of voters shifting across states.
“As you have noticed in Rahul Gandhi’s campaign also, there are lots of voters who jumped from one place to the other so they will vote in Delhi today and after two months, they will vote in Bihar and after three months, they will vote in Karnataka so it gives them ample time to delete from one place to the other which is obviously like the money power the BJP has it is definitely going to disturb the entire election process,” he said.
The Congress has collected over 10,000 signatures in Meghalaya as part of its campaign led by Rahul Gandhi against the alleged electoral malpractices.
“The Congress has started a signature campaign across the country to garner 5 crores signatures from the length and breadth of this country, and all states have contributed. In Meghalaya too, we have collected 10K plus signatures across the state and are gaining momentum with many wanting to pledge their support via this campaign, which will continue for the months to come,” Matak said.
“As responsible citizens, we urge people to stay informed about this issue and engage in constructive discussions to ensure the integrity of our democratic institutions and processes. Don’t let your silence usher in an autocratic era,” she said.
Marak said the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi has been campaigning and raising concerns about the health of India’s democracy and the integrity of the electoral process.
There has been widespread rigging and stealing of votes by the BJP across the country with damning evidence in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra”, she said.
“In these widespread electoral malpractices, the BJP and the Election Commission are involved in ‘vote chori’ to favour the ruling party,” she said.
