NEW YORK: The United Nations has sought an explanation from India over allegations that the names of millions of voters, particularly from minority communities, have been removed from electoral rolls.
According to reports, three UN Special Rapporteurs have written to the Indian government requesting a response to claims that large-scale deletions of voter names disproportionately affected religious and ethnic minorities, especially Muslims.
In their communication, the UN experts asked India to provide detailed data on voters allegedly removed from electoral rolls on religious and ethnic grounds.
The letter referred to allegations that around 9.1 million names were removed from voter lists in West Bengal, while approximately 52 million names were reportedly deleted across 12 Indian states.
The UN experts expressed concern that the large-scale removal of names from electoral rolls may have disproportionately impacted minority communities, particularly Muslims.
They have also requested complete details of appeals, objections, and decisions related to the voter list revisions, asking the Indian government to respond within 60 days.
According to Indian media reports cited in the communication, the concerns focus on the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) programme in West Bengal, with particular attention to the Nandigram Assembly constituency.
The report alleges that 95 percent of the voters removed from electoral rolls in Nandigram were Muslims, despite Muslims making up only 25 percent of the constituency’s total electorate.
The Indian government has not yet publicly responded to the UN’s communication.
