By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 10: The opposition parties on Wednesday raised concerns over unchecked influx, non-residents sneaking into the electoral rolls, and the risk of genuine citizens being left out of the electoral rolls amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Participating in a cut motion raised in the Assembly, VPP chief and Nongkrem MLA Ardent M. Basaiawmoit warned that a large-scale migration of people into Meghalaya, triggered by unrest in neighbouring states and across the international border, posed a direct threat to the integrity of the voters’ list.
He alleged that the government failed to put in place mechanisms to monitor entrants, leaving civil groups to act on their own in detaining doubtful individuals.
He said infiltrators could easily assimilate into local communities and secure enrolment as voters. Drawing from reports by headmen in his constituency, Basaiawmoit pointed out that non-residents managed to get themselves registered in Nongkrem despite not living there. He insisted that local Dorbars must be empowered to certify the citizenship of applicants before their inclusion in the voters’ list.
The MLA cautioned that many genuine citizens risked being excluded during the revision, as they lacked documents like Aadhaar and birth certificates. The purpose of the revision, he said, must be to safeguard the rights of locals, not to make enrolment more difficult for them.
Basaiawmoit said infiltrators acquired land in parts of Khasi-Jaintia Hills within months of arrival by swiftly producing documents to pass off as genuine citizens. He demanded that the government ensure genuine voters are protected and doubtful individuals are prevented, at all costs, from making it to the electoral rolls.
Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma cautioned that genuine citizens risk being pushed out of the system because of procedural hurdles.
He said the parameters set for enrolment had become excessively challenging, especially for senior citizens, many of whom have begun scrambling to secure documents just to ensure their participation in the democratic process.
Sangma cited the case of a 90-year-old resident of Tura who was compelled to make repeated visits to the municipality office for a birth certificate. The man had questioned why someone of his age should be forced to go through such an ordeal, pointing out the absurdity of being asked to produce certificates decades after his birth.
The Opposition leader argued that while the state claimed to have robust, digitalised systems in place, the ground reality told a different story. He revealed that even students seeking birth certificates or non-availability certificates had been forced to visit Primary Health Centres multiple times only to be turned away because doctors could not provide the required documents.
He said nearly 80 per cent of elderly villagers lacked birth certificates or similar records, making them vulnerable to exclusion during the SIR exercise.
He urged the government to simplify procedures, create an enabling environment, and remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that stood in the way of rightful enrolment.
Warning that many “sons and daughters of the soil” could be left out if the system continued in its present form, Sangma stressed that democracy could only remain vibrant if every citizen was allowed to participate without unnecessary barriers.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma acknowledged the legitimacy of these concerns and underlined the necessity of the SIR exercise. He said the review was crucial to detect duplicate IDs, correct errors, and ensure only genuine voters were included, while also minimising inconvenience to those without documents.
He clarified that citizens already on the electoral roll from January 2003 or earlier would not need to submit additional documents, simplifying the process significantly.
The Chief Minister said the exercise would involve exhaustive training for BLOs, house-to-house enumeration, rationalisation and serialisation of sections, publication of draft rolls, and mechanisms for claims and objections. He emphasised that the government’s goal was to strike a balance between safeguarding genuine voters from exclusion and preventing non-residents from entering the electoral rolls.