A '124-Year-Old Voter', Becomes Face of Opposition MPs Protest: Who Is Minta Devi?
A '124-Year-Old Voter: The negligence in the voter list revision (SIR) process in Siwan district of Bihar made 34-year-old Minta Devi a 124-year-old. Opposition parties have launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission regarding this. Minta Devi, a resident of Arjanipur village in Duraundha assembly constituency of Siwan, had recently applied online for the first time to get her name registered in the voter list.
Minta's father-in-law Tej Pratap Singh also told that no officer came to their village for revision of the voter list.
Who Is Minta Devi?
According to her Aadhaar card, her date of birth is 15 July 1990, i.e. her age is 34 years. But when she received the voter ID card, her date of birth was recorded as 15 July 1900, according to which her age is 124 years. Minta Devi's husband Dhananjay Singh said in a conversation with Aaj Tak, 'We had filled the form on the basis of Aadhar card. After receiving the voter ID card, we kept it without opening it. When after a few days, we opened it, we came to know about this big mistake.
Also Read: Asim Munir threatened India while sitting in the US, ban on BLA and hospitality...
Her family says that during the SIR, no Booth Level Officer or Election Commission employee came to them. Minta's father-in-law Tej Pratap Singh also said that no officer came to his village for revision of the voter list. He has demanded that this mistake be corrected as soon as possible. Neighbor Suresh Singh and Minta's father-in-law's brother Madhusudan Singh also blamed the Election Commission's negligence in this matter.
Opposition made it an issue, protest in Parliament
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi and India Block MPs protested outside the Parliament House in Delhi wearing T-shirts on which Minta Devi's photo and her age of 124 years were printed. The opposition called it a failure of the Election Commission and questioned the SIR process. Priyanka Gandhi said, 'This is not a mistake, but an example of negligence. If there can be such a big mistake in the age of a woman, then it is natural to question the credibility of the voter list.'
Also Read: Earthquake in Indonesia, intensity was 6.3 on Richter scale
The Election Commission had run a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign on a war footing before the Bihar Assembly elections. Its purpose was to correct errors in the voter list and add new voters. After this process which lasted for a month, the draft voter list was published, so that people could check their names and details. But after Minta Devi's case came to light, serious questions are being raised on the SIR process.
Summary
Minta Devi and her family have demanded that the age mistake in their voter ID be corrected immediately. Minta's husband Dhananjay Singh said, 'We want this mistake to be corrected as soon as possible, so that we do not have to face further trouble.' Opposition parties say that this matter not only raises questions on the functioning of the Election Commission, but also puts the credibility of the voter list in question.
The Election Commission will have to take immediate steps to correct such mistakes, so that the voters' trust in it remains intact.
.