Amid growing backlash against Kerala’s voter list overhaul via Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan has urged the swift retraction of hearing notices served to approximately 1.8 million electors. Addressing reporters in the state Assembly on Wednesday, he underscored the public outcry over the burdensome process that’s disrupting lives across the state.
Satheesan lambasted the tagging of minor name or initial differences as ‘logical inconsistencies,’ attributing most to Election Commission software flaws. ‘Punishing people for the system’s mistakes is unjust,’ he stated firmly, proposing that BLOs handle rectifications at voters’ doorsteps instead of mandating court-like appearances.
He insisted on a full withdrawal of app-generated notices, pointing to the EC’s prior signals that haven’t translated uniformly into action. Raising alarms on Form 7 misuse for wrongful deletions, Satheesan demanded rigorous penalties for fake submissions and negligent BLOs, particularly noting patterns in northern Kerala targeting rival party supporters.
Equating SIR to citizenship scrutiny, he cautioned parties against partisan overreach. Satheesan further criticized gaps for expatriate voters, such as the absent birthplace field for foreign-born applicants in Form 6A online forms, affecting lakhs and requiring urgent fixes and timeline relaxations.
With formal grievances already dispatched to District Collectors statewide, the Opposition Leader is set to advocate for mediated discussions between the EC and political leaders to restore faith in the electoral roll revision exercise.