India voter-list purge draws growing backlash, WSJ reports

India’s huge voter-list revision is drawing growing criticism at home and abroad, The Wall Street Journal reported on October 6. The Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, has removed lakhs of names from electoral rolls across several states. In Delhi, about 4.7 million people out of 14.5 million were cut from the draft roll for not returning enumeration forms. Another 30 percent of those on the draft rolls were flagged for review, according to a petition before the Supreme Court. Nationwide, about 70 million names have been removed in states where the revision is final, activist Anjali Bhardwaj said. About 60 million more have been cut from draft rolls where the process is still under way. Critics say the software flags improbable family details, such as age gaps of under 40 years with a grandparent. Some allege the exercise targets Muslim voters, who rarely back the BJP. Home Minister Amit Shah has defended the process, saying those removed were foreigners or held false documents. The Election Commission has said officers will visit flagged voters at home to check documents.
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