NEW DELHI, March 5 � Assam would have three-phase polling, two during the Bihu festival, even as the Election Commission clarified that �D� voters would not be allowed to cast their ballot unless cleared by the Tribunals.
Flanked by Election Commissioners HS Brahma and SNA Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath today made it clear that the �D� voters in Assam would not be allowed to vote. Only those who have been cleared by the Foreigners� Tribunals would be eligible to cast their votes, he added.
As reported, the Centre had on February 17 declined to set a timeline for settlement of cases of �D� voters in Assam.
Settlement of �D� voters is done through a specific judicial process and efforts are on to settle these cases. However, no time limit can be fixed, it being a judicial process, Minister of State for Home Affairs M Ramachandran had told Badruddin Ajmal in a Lok Sabha reply.
In order to ensure speedier disposal of cases pending in the Foreigners� Tribunals, the Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 1964, had been amended in April 2012, according to which the cases shall be disposed of by the Tribunals within 60 days from the reference received from the competent authority.
At least 36 Foreigners� Tribunals have been set up in Assam for detection of illegal migrants. There is no report of some ethnic groups being harassed by police in the process of identification of foreigners in Assam. The due process of law has been followed in the process of identification of foreigners by the police in Assam.
According to reports, during intensive revision of electoral rolls in 1997 objections and doubts were raised before the election authorities.
After verification, the claims of 13,41,994 persons were accepted as being citizens of India and further proceedings in their cases were dropped. Names of 1,84,619 persons were deleted under Rule 21 A of the Registration of Elector Rule, 1960, under the suo moto power of the Electoral Registration Officers following the due procedure for reasons of being dead or shifted.
