Amritsar: A former envoy to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and several other nations was asked to prove his Indian citizenship during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Navdeep Suri, a 67-year-old retired diplomat with over 30 years in the Indian Foreign Service, questioned the Election Commission of India on Sunday, August 23, after being told his details did not match the 2003 electoral rolls.
Having served in India’s diplomatic missions in Damascus, Cairo, Washington, and London, Suri flagged issues in the SIR process even after representing the country in multiple nations.
“Sharing my experience with SIR in Punjab. Went to BLO, submitted Voter ID and Aadhaar card, was assured that everything is in order. Got a message today from a volunteer saying some details don’t match with SIR in 2003!” said Suri on X.
In a following post, the former ambassador wrote that a booth-level officer (BLO) told him that he should collect the notice and return with unspecified documents that show he is an Indian citizen. “Replied that I was not in India in 2003, so they’ve asked for passport as proof,” he said.
Suri added that he does possess documents other than voter ID and Aadhaar card but cannot help asking, “If I have trouble establishing my citizenship after representing India in three countries, what’s the fate of the common citizen?”
“Ease of Living, I presume!”
The ongoing revision of electoral rolls has seen many such figures face difficulty, with Suri not the first public figure to find their name missing or with an error in the list.
In Karnataka, actor Prakash Raj had previously alleged that his name was deleted from the Bengaluru voter list. Election officials later clarified that Raj’s name was not deleted but was marked as “shifted” after verification found that he was no longer residing at his registered address in the city.
