Rohit Pawar flags ‘Bengal-like’ exclusion of voters in Maha

Pune: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has questioned why the SIR in Maharashtra is rushed even though no election is on the horizon. In a social media post, he said that with just three days for the deadline, 18% enumeration forms remained unsubmitted.The MLA drew a parallel with West Bengal where he alleged democracy was “strangled” by excluding 12% (91 lakh) voters’ names, and asked whether govt was plotting a similar “Bengal pattern” in Maharashtra to rob voters of their rights and pave an easy path to power.He demanded that ECI immediately extend the deadline for submitting forms, using its machinery to ensure compliance if necessary.Replying to the post, Maharashtra CEO’s office said 78% of enumeration forms have been digitised, while 19% has been collected but await digitisation. It means action has been completed for 97.1% electors, with the remaining 2.9% yet to be covered through visits and digitisation.The ECI said the claim that 18% forms were not submitted was “not based on factual information.” The outstanding forms fall under the absent/shifted/dead/duplicate/others category and cannot be collected, it added. Lists of such voters have been made available and uploaded on the relevant websites.Enumeration forms can still be collected up to Monday which has been brought to the notice of representatives of recognised political parties during a state-level meeting.