Chandigarh: Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, raising the issue of first-time voters from the state who were turned away while seeking enrolment during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Warring said young men and women from various assembly constituencies across Punjab, who had turned 18 and sought registration as voters through Form 6, were instead asked to establish the electoral-roll status of their parents or grandparents during the last intensive revision held more than two decades ago.In his letter, Warring urged Shah to intervene in his capacity as Union home minister and the authority responsible for matters under the Citizenship Act, 1955.He also requested that the ministry of home affairs specify, once and for all, the documents that all authorities, including the Election Commission, would accept as proof of Indian citizenship.Warring argued that Article 326 of the Constitution lays down citizenship, attainment of 18 years of age and ordinary residence as the relevant conditions for voter eligibility.The Punjab Congress chief maintained that the right to electoral registration was a continuing right. He said the Representation of the People Act, 1950, provides for including eligible persons in electoral rolls through a continuous updation process.He further pointed out that the law provides four qualifying dates in a year for voter registration, arguing that the ongoing SIR should not result in eligible first-time voters being kept outside the electoral roll.Warring said the Election Commission subsequently stated that the additional declaration would not be required after the completion of revision. However, he contended that this did not address the position of those whose claims had already been turned away before the Sept 12 deadline for filing claims and objections in Punjab.“The young people turned away stand outside the roll to be finalised next month, and that roll is the one Punjab takes into 2027,” he said.Seeking Shah’s intervention, Warring said the issue fundamentally concerned citizenship, which falls within the domain of the Union home ministry. He referred to the Citizenship Act, 1955, and argued that determination of citizenship was a matter for the central govt rather than the Election Commission.He also referred to the ministry of external affairs’ position that an Indian passport is a travel document and does not by itself constitute proof of citizenship. Warring questioned what documentation would conclusively establish citizenship if even a passport did not do so.Warring also referred to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s previous service in Union home ministry, saying a clear clarification from the home ministry on the legal requirements for establishing citizenship would carry weight.The Punjab Congress president sought issuance of citizenship certificates to eligible applicants who produce documents such as birth certificates or school records, or alternatively a notification specifying documents accepted as proof of citizenship by all authorities and acceptance of Form 6 applications under continuous updation without requiring the grandparent declaration.
