1-day return of SIR forms: Collector refutes DMK MP’s claim
Strictly toeing EC’s instructions, schedule for collecting filled forms, clarifies Tirupur DEO after ruling party leader’s host of complaints on the exercise
Booth-level officers mark the execution of the SIR with a rangoli in Perambalur on Saturday
TIRUPUR: District Collector Manish Shankarrao Narnaware has denied claims that Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) were instructed to collect filled voter verification forms for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls the very day after distribution.
The clarification came after DMK Rajya Sabha MP NR Elango, in a recent interview, stated that some booth-level officers in a few constituencies of Coimbatore and Tirupur districts had told voters to return completed voter verification forms the next day.
In a statement, Collector Manish, who is also the District Election Officer (DEO), said that the distribution of voter verification forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process began across Tirupur district on November 4, as per the guidelines and schedule issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
He added that no official direction had been issued to booth-level officers to recollect forms from voters the very next day. The SIR work in all eight Assembly constituencies of Tirupur district, he said, was being carried out strictly in line with the ECI’s instructions and timetable.
NR Elango has alleged that SIR in Tamil Nadu is proving to be worse than what was conducted in Bihar. He charged that in most districts, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) did not visit or distribute voter rollverification forms on Thursday. When questioned, several officials claimed they had not yet received the forms, he added.
As a result, one full day in the 30-day verification schedule has already been lost, he said, alleging that in a few constituencies in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, BLOs reportedly handed over the forms but instructed residents to return the completed versions by the next day.
“How is it possible in the case of both members of a couple working. Also, if homemakers are available during the visits, they may not easily understand how to fill out the form. We ourselves went through the SIR notification multiple times to get a better understanding,” Elango said.
As per the Election Commission’s notification, citizens are allowed a period of one month to submit the completed forms, he said. Asking for them to return the form within a day is not in line with the rules laid down by the Election Commission, he said, leading to the clarification of the Tirupur Collector.