Scores of Kashmiri Pandits return without voting in Jammu after finding names missing from roll

Scores of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu were unable to vote in the fourth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha election as their names were found to be missing from the electoral rolls

Scores of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu were unable to vote on May 13 in the fourth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha election as their names were found to be missing from the electoral rolls.

Even as the community members lined up across special polling stations in Jammu amid tight security, several of them had to return without casting their vote.

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"I came to the polling station with three members of my family to cast our votes despite such heat. We carried our EPIC (Voter ID) cards too. But we found our names missing from the electoral roll. It is a denial of our right to vote," Veena, a resident of Jagti camp and a migrant from the erstwhile Habbakadal area of Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, said.

She wondered what's the use of the voter ID card issued by the Election Commission if that is not enough. “They (EPIC) should be cancelled by the EC. The government wants us to vote but at the same time has a process that denies us the right to exercise our franchise,” she added.

Avinash Raina and four of his family members, who hail from erstwhile Budgam area of Srinagar LS seat, also had to return without exercising their franchise. "We came here to vote. We don't figure in the voting list. What do we do now? Nobody is here to listen to us and resolve the issue," he said.

Kuldeep Kumar and scores of electors from his housing colony too had to return without voting from a special polling station set up in Talab Tillo.