Congress alleges Form-7 voter deletions targeting Muslims, protests at Charminar
Hyderabad: Hyderabad District Congress Committee president Syed Khalid Saifullah on Saturday alleged a BJP-linked network behind Form-7 voter deletions targeting Muslims. He demanded an investigation into computer-generated applications allegedly routed from Delhi to polling booths across Telangana.
Saifullah made the allegations during a Congress protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Charminar. Senior Congress leader and Telangana Government Advisor V. Hanumantha Rao led the march from Madina Market to Charminar. More than 200 party workers participated and demanded an investigation into alleged electoral roll irregularities.
Saifullah alleged that Form-7 applications targeted entire Muslim families in constituencies including Musheerabad and Goshamahal. “In some places, names of all voters from a single house are being sought to be deleted,” he said.
He questioned who generated the applications and how they reached local political workers. According to Saifullah, computers generated the forms in Delhi before they reached the BJP’s Telangana State office. He alleged that Assembly-level functionaries subsequently distributed them to booth-level workers for submission.
“The computer-generated forms are coming from Delhi to the BJP State office,” he alleged. He demanded an investigation into the alleged distribution network and those responsible for preparing the applications.
Saifullah also accused the BJP of using electoral roll revision to create communal divisions. He alleged that political workers were filing objections against Muslim voters who had lived alongside Hindu neighbours for years. He claimed the process had strained relations between communities at the booth level.
Congress demands probe into Form-7 voter deletions
Saifullah said investigators should examine the entire alleged network rather than prosecute only those submitting deletion requests. He referred to an FIR registered against a Booth Level Agent in Telangana. However, he argued that the investigation should identify those who generated and distributed the applications.
Using counterfeit currency as an example, he said investigators normally traced its origin and distribution network. “The same principle must apply here,” he said. He demanded that police establish who prepared the computer-generated forms, supplied them and handled their distribution.
Furthermore, Saifullah sought an examination of BJP offices, alleging that thousands of such applications could be stored there. He maintained that prosecuting individual booth-level workers would not establish the alleged operation’s full extent.
“The person holding the form is only the last point in the chain. The source has to be identified,” he said. Saifullah also criticised Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao over his response to questions about the allegations.
He claimed the BJP leadership had failed to provide clear explanations about the disputed applications. Meanwhile, Saifullah alleged that similar computer-generated Form-7 formats had appeared in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
He said the similarities raised questions about a possible common source and warranted a wider investigation. “If the same kind of forms are appearing in Telangana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Karnataka, then the source must be investigated,” he said. He argued that authorities should not treat the allegations as an isolated local matter.
Form-7 voter deletions spark Charminar protest
Congress leaders participating in the march questioned the credibility of the electoral roll revision process. They accused the Election Commission of failing to adequately address opposition concerns over alleged wrongful deletions.
Hanumantha Rao said Congress would continue protesting attempts to deprive eligible citizens of their voting rights. During the march, workers raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They also demanded greater transparency in the handling of voter deletion applications.
Party leaders expressed concern that minorities, poor households, migrants and other vulnerable groups could face disproportionate harm. They warned against processing deletion requests without adequate scrutiny.
Saifullah said Congress would pursue the Form-7 voter deletions issue before election authorities and law-enforcement agencies. He also indicated that the party would explore legal remedies wherever necessary.
“This is not merely a Congress-versus-BJP issue,” he said. He maintained that every eligible citizen had the right to remain on electoral rolls and exercise their vote.
Furthermore, Saifullah warned of intensified protests if authorities failed to investigate the alleged source of computer-generated applications. “We will not allow democracy to be manipulated through computers, mass objections or wrongful deletions,” he said.
He said Congress would pursue the matter from polling booths to constitutional forums. The allegations against the BJP and the claimed Delhi-based distribution network were not independently established in the information provided.