Assam voter roll revision sparks communal row ahead of assembly polls

With Assam heading towards Assembly elections scheduled for March-April, the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls has led to rising political tensions across Assam.

- NIBIR DEKA

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

The process has drawn allegations of targeted disenfranchisement of Bengali-origin Muslims, often referred to as ‘Miyas,’ with opposition parties accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to manipulate voter lists ahead ofthe polls. The state government, however, has rejected these charges, saying that the exercise is necessary to address alleged demographic changes linked to illegal migration.The controversy intensified this week after Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia wrote a four-page letter to the Chief Justice of India on January 28 demanding a suo motu intervention. Saikiadescribed the situation asa'constitutional crisis’ and alleged large-scale misuse of Form-7 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, to delete voters’ names arbitrarily. In his letter, he said that the deletions are largely aimed at the ‘Miya’ community. In his letter, Saikia said that the right to vote under Article 326 of the Constitution was being ‘systematically undermined through executive interference, communal targeting, and misuse of statutory procedures.’