He pointed out that Booth Level Officers are usually junior state government employees, while Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and District Election Officers are also drawn from the state administration. The Chief Electoral Officer, he added, is a Punjab-cadre IAS officer.
Chadha claimed that these officials could face pressure because the state government controls their regular transfers, postings and career prospects after their election-related assignments end.
He further accused the AAP government of using the Punjab Police and administrative machinery against MPs who had left the party, describing the classification of his voter record as the latest instance of such alleged retaliation.
Referring to Paragraph 4(d) of the Election Commission’s detailed SIR guidelines, Chadha said the provision requires the names of members of the judiciary, public representatives, holders of declared offices and prominent figures from several fields to remain in draft electoral rolls if they are flagged during the revision process. This allows the necessary documents to be obtained during the claims and objections period.
Chadha argued that, as a sitting MP from Punjab, his name should have been retained in the draft rolls even if his record had been flagged.
“The instruction was not overlooked. It was wilfully violated in my case,” he alleged, adding that Punjab’s draft electoral rolls were not the AAP government’s “private property”.
With IANS inputs
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