Donald Joseph Rego (61) had no reason to prove that he was alive. Until the draft electoral roll published on August 24 under the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) told him otherwise.
What looks like a database exercise on paper is increasingly being worked out in homes, government offices and hearing centres, where voters are searching for old certificates and trying to understand why records they considered settled have suddenly become questions. “The portal kept showing an error. I would try again, but the application would not go through.
The discovery kicked off a series of fruitless visits to election officials, said Rego. “I kept going from one office to another, and instead of taking responsibility, the officials kept directing me to someone else,” he said, alleging that the assistant electoral officer (AERO) blamed the booth-level officer (BLO), who in turn told him to speak to the data entry operator who had uploaded the information through the SIR mobile application. Nagaraju did not have an SSLC certificate or a passport and was advised to apply for a Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) He said he spent five days trying to submit the application. “My name is Rohini in the 2002 voter roll, father’s name Mohan, who is apparently a different person than Rohini Mohan whose father is Mohan,” she said.
Earlier reporting noted: Hegganahalli resident Nagaraju Shivappa’s BLO asked him to produce another document along with Aadhaar. Earlier reporting noted: Independent journalist Rohini Mohan received a notice flagging an alleged technical discrepancy even though there was not change in her name in previous records. He was then asked to attend a hearing on Monday and explain his circumstances.
About 52,000 voters in the coastal districts remain unmapped. Hegganahalli resident Nagaraju Shivappa’s BLO asked him to produce another document along with Aadhaar. “The portal kept showing an error. I would try again, but the application would not go through. Independent journalist Rohini Mohan received a notice flagging an alleged technical discrepancy even though there was not change in her name in previous records. The problems extend beyond Bengaluru.
Nagaraju did not have an SSLC certificate or a passport and was advised to apply for a Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) He said he spent five days trying to submit the application. “My name is Rohini in the 2002 voter roll, father’s name Mohan, who is apparently a different person than Rohini Mohan whose father is Mohan,” she said. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada Raju K said the issue affected people working abroad as well as migrants living and working in the district.
He was then asked to attend a hearing on Monday and explain his circumstances.
