Daijiworld Media Network – Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, Mar 1: Congress and AAP members on Saturday raised concerns in the Gujarat Assembly over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including deletion of voters’ names through large-scale filing of Form 7 applications.

The issue surfaced during discussion on the Gujarat (Supplementary) Appropriation Bill, 2026, which sought to regularise expenditure incurred for voter list revision work. Opposition legislators alleged that thousands of Form 7 applications — meant for deletion of names from electoral rolls — were submitted across constituencies around January 17 and 18 without the knowledge of the voters concerned.

AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava claimed several applications lacked supporting documents and said individuals whose names appeared in the forms denied having filed them. Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani alleged that nearly 14 lakh people belonging to a particular community were targeted in a pre-planned attempt to remove names from the rolls, warning that such actions could disturb social harmony. He demanded that the state government identify those behind the “fraudulent” applications and initiate legal action.

Congress MLAs Amit Chavda and Amrutji Thakor stressed that safeguarding voting rights was paramount in a democracy. They contended that since booth-level officers and other election staff are drawn from the state machinery and public funds were being utilised for the exercise, the Assembly had the right to examine administrative lapses. Thakor further claimed that Aadhaar and EPIC cards were allegedly not being accepted as valid documents for inclusion of names in revised rolls.

However, Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia raised a point of order, stating that matters relating to the Election Commission of India fall outside the jurisdiction of the state legislature. Citing Article 324 of the Constitution, he said the Election Commission is an autonomous constitutional body responsible for conducting elections and preparing electoral rolls, and the state government cannot interfere in its processes. BJP MLA and former Speaker Ramanlal Vora supported the contention.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary ruled that while the Assembly cannot deliberate on the statutory and constitutional functions of the Election Commission, members may discuss supplementary demands and administrative aspects involving the state machinery. He cautioned members against crossing the “thin line” between critiquing state administration and questioning the autonomy of the Commission.

Responding to the allegations, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai clarified that submission of Form 7 does not automatically lead to deletion of a voter’s name. He said Booth Level Officers conduct mandatory field verification and hearings are held, if necessary, before any final decision.

Following the debate, the Gujarat (Supplementary) Appropriation Bill, 2026, was passed by a majority voice vote, with Congress and AAP opposing the legislation.