Nagaland Congress alleges massive voter deletion in Mokokchung and Mon under the Special Intensive Revision drive
DIMAPUR/MOKOKCHUNG — The Congress organised press conferences in Mokokchung and Mon as part of its nationwide ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign, alleging large-scale deletion of genuine voters from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and instructing party workers to conduct house-to-house verifications.
Spearheaded nationally by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the campaign centres on concerns surrounding the SIR of electoral rolls.
Mokokchung: In Mokokchung, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Observer Pranav Shagotra alleged that the SIR exercise was being used to deprive citizens of their democratic rights and facilitate “vote theft”.
Shagotra alleged that SIR is being used as a pretext by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Ganesh Kumar to deprive people across the country of their democratic rights and facilitate widespread vote theft throughout India.
Also read: Congress flags 1.57 lakh voter gap in Nagaland, seeks CEC’s removal
Citing an FIR-based report, he claimed that more than 13 crore votes had been removed nationwide. He said Rahul Gandhi had constituted teams to visit states and districts to examine alleged deletions in assembly and parliamentary constituencies.
Referring to Mokokchung, Shagotra said the district had a total of 1,56,302 voters, of which around 7,900 names had allegedly been misplaced or deleted. He urged Congress workers and citizens to verify the figures at the booth, block, assembly, and district levels.
Stating that the struggle would continue until Ganesh Kumar is suspended from his position and put behind bars, he further asserted that the democratic rights of ordinary citizens are being manipulated by a few individuals in Delhi and that such interference would not be tolerated.
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) President and Lok Sabha MP S Supongmeren Jamir said booth-level agents (BLAs) in Mokokchung had carried out commendable groundwork. He noted that more than 7,000 votes had reportedly been deleted in the district under various categories cited by the authorities.
Jamir stressed that permanently shifted voters and untraceable electors should be distinguished from cases of improper deletion. He said the Election Commission’s decision to permit house-to-house revision, following sustained political pressure, had opened an opportunity to identify and restore genuine voters whose names had been wrongly removed.
He directed party workers, BLAs, and office bearers to treat the exercise with seriousness and ensure that no eligible voter was left off the rolls. Jamir alleged that voter deletions across the country had crossed 13.47 crore, while Nagaland reportedly faced around 1,57,000 delayed or affected votes.
Alleging that the Modi government and the Election Commission had manipulated electoral processes, Jamir said the INDIA bloc would continue its fight until justice was delivered to affected voters.
According to him, the INDIA bloc will stage protests in Delhi on October 30 and 31, followed by a rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 to demand the reinstatement of deleted voter names and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The bloc has also called for the replacement of EVM machines and judicial proceedings on its other demands, Jamir informed.
He also tasked district Congress office-bearers with coordinating with the PCC president and in-charge to ensure participation from Mokokchung in the Delhi agitation.
Mon: Meanwhile, the District Congress Committee (DCC) Mon held a press conference at Congress Bhawan on October 27 on the ongoing SIR across the nation and in Nagaland.
During the press conference, President of DCC Mon Thomas Konyak said that the SIR conducted by the CEC and the BJP government is attempting to divide the country, manipulate voters, and hamper democracy. He said the Congress party is totally against the SIR process because it is unprepared and is being carried out without studying proper outcomes, describing it as an attempt to divert attention from price rise and national security.
Regarding Mon district, he stated that according to reliable sources, the Mon DCC had collected data showing that 5,589 voters had been deleted from the regular electoral roll, calling it a huge loss for the district. He appealed to citizens, intellectuals, and especially the youth of the district to remain vigilant towards the SIR.
Thomas added that the main victims of the SIR are block-level officers (BLOs) across the district because they are not given enough time for preparation, alleging that the ruling government in the state has turned a deaf ear to their genuine suffering.
The press conference was also attended by PCC member and former candidate Wangleny, DCC General Secretary Leiwang, Mahila President Themlim, Mahila Vice President Meilem, and DCC Youth President Manai.