TNNLucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa on Saturday warned that filing false objections through Form-7 for deletion of names from the electoral rolls could invite imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both.Rinwa directed all district election officers and electoral registration officers (EROs) to strictly follow Election Commission guidelines while examining objections submitted through Form-7.Under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, knowingly making false statements or declarations concerning the preparation, revision or correction of electoral rolls is a punishable offence.He said that if an ERO’s inquiry establishes that an objection filed through Form-7 contains a deliberately false declaration, legal proceedings must be initiated against the applicant. The directions follow EC instructions issued on Oct 9.Meanwhile, a statewide special voter enrolment drive was conducted at polling booths on Saturday to register eligible citizens, particularly first-time voters, women and those whose names are missing from electoral rolls.Rinwa inspected polling centres at St Agnes Loreto Day School in Lucknow Cantonment constituency and Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Gomti Nagar under Lucknow Central constituency.He interacted with booth-level officers (BLOs) and citizens, checking the availability of electoral rolls, supplementary lists and Form-6 applications.The CEO said improving the state’s elector-population ratio and gender ratio requires greater public participation.Another special enrolment drive will be held across Uttar Pradesh on Oct 24. Citizens have been urged to verify their names in electoral rolls and submit Form-6 if missing.Applications can also be submitted through voters.eci.gov.in or the ECINET mobile application.
