Hyderabad: BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday criticised BJP Telangana president N Ramchander Rao’s remarks on voter list revision, asserting that the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and deletion of votes fall within the constitutional powers of Election Commission of India.Prabhakar questioned Rao’s claim that he would personally ensure that missing names were added to the electoral rolls, asking whether he intended to act as an Election Commission official. He stressed that protecting the voting rights of every eligible citizen should take precedence over political interests.The minister said he would bring forward people whose names had been deleted from the voter list and maintained that the fight was based on evidence to protect democracy. He challenged the BJP state president to participate in a ground-level inquiry into the booths and wards where votes had allegedly been deleted, instead of issuing challenges from air-conditioned rooms.The minister called for a thorough examination of allegations concerning the use of Form-6 and Form-7 applications during voter list revisions in accordance with EC regulations. He specifically demanded a clear answer from Rao on whether BJP workers in the Musheerabad constituency had filed Form-7 applications seeking the deletion of votes.The minister also accused BJP of attempting to divert the issue towards religion by invoking the names of AIMIM and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi whenever voting rights were discussed. He asserted that the vote was a constitutional right belonging to every citizen, irrespective of religion or political affiliation.He further questioned what BJP had achieved for Telangana and its farming community during its more than a decade in power at the Centre. He demanded clarity on the Centre’s support for Telangana regarding state bifurcation promises and farmers’ welfare.He called upon political parties to set aside political theatrics and diversionary tactics and focus on safeguarding the voting rights of every eligible citizen.
