Fisherman leader Ghafoor Pateliya said that out of around 350 fishermen who were registered as voters in Gandhi, the names of around 347 fishermen were removed from the electoral roll.
“Only three names have been retained while the rest have been deleted. Similarly, out of 225 voters in Navadra, 224 names have been deleted,” it added.
Ghafoor, 45, also said fishermen from Gandhi and Navadra are based in Roupen port near Dwarka town, Madhavpur in Porbandar, Manrore in Junagadh and Hirakot in Gir-Somnath district after they lost their homes to demolition last year. He said that he had moved.
He further said that police officials have been asked not to apply for change of address on Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards and PAN cards as they may get an opportunity to continue staying in Gandhi and Navadra.
Ghafoor said this is why the fishermen did not apply to change their documents, but now their names have disappeared from the voter list.
The magazine said Ghafoor and Ayyub moved to Madhavpur in the aftermath of the subversive activities.
Ghafoor also noted that all the names removed from the list belong to the minority community and they voted in the Gujarat Assembly elections held in December 2022.
The houses and huts in the village of Gandhivi, near the temple of Goddess Harsiddhi, where the fishermen were staying, were considered an encroachment on government land.
JD Patel, deputy chief electoral officer of Devbhumi Dwarka, said the names of these fishermen were removed from the list only after due process.
Patel said, “In July last year, around 700 names were removed from the voter list in these villages. However, this was done after due process.” These voters have been notified individually, as per the above,” it added.
Patel also said that a public notice was posted in the village panchayat asking why names should not be removed from the electoral roll, but there was no response.
The Electoral Registration Officer of Dwarka, based on the reports of the village ‘sarpanch’ and ‘thalatis’ (village panchayat clerks), said that these people are no longer residing in Gandhvi and Navadra. The Dwarka Sub-Administrative Magistrate ordered deletion of the register of these people. According to the names on the electoral roll, Patel told the publication.
He also said that the names traced in the villages were kept in the electoral roll.
“Around 48 people from the affected areas were found in their villages during the roll revision exercise and their names have been kept in the roll,” Patel said, adding that the draft electoral roll has been published and the panchaya of each village It added that no one objected to the deletion of about 700 names listed in these draft electoral rolls, which were displayed at the Yat office.
The deputy election officer further said that these fishermen have the option of having their names registered at their new location after the demolition.
Mr Patel also said fishermen whose names were removed from the list had the option to re-enter the list at their respective locations where they had moved after the demolition.
