BJP to challenge Telangana’s Family Register Certificates over ‘illegal voter’ concerns

Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao has alleged that the Congress government’s decision to issue Family Register Certificates was a “backdoor attempt to legitimise Rohingya and Bangladeshi vote banks” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The BJP chief accused the Revanth Reddy government of pursuing “appeasement politics” and claimed that the move was aimed at helping “undocumented people” remain on the electoral rolls. He alleged that the decision was taken at the behest of the AIMIM, which had publicly demanded the issuance of such certificates to prevent names from being deleted during the SIR process.“The Congress, BRS, and AIMIM, which have sheltered illegal vote banks for decades, now see the SIR as their political death warrant. That is why the Congress government is rushing to issue Family Register Certificates,” he said.The Telangana government recently constituted a statewide electronic Family Register and introduced a facility to issue Family Register Certificates through the MeeSeva platform. According to the government, the initiative is intended to facilitate the delivery of citizen services by providing an authenticated record of family composition, ensuring uniformity in verification and reducing difficulties faced by citizens while availing government services.Questioning the timing of the decision, Rao claimed the certificates were being projected as acceptable documents during the electoral roll revision process to benefit ineligible persons.He argued that Family Register Certificates, which are generated using ration card records and related family data, only establish family composition and cannot be treated as proof of Indian citizenship.The BJP leader said his party would oppose any attempt to enrol illegal immigrants in the electoral rolls and challenge the move both politically and legally.He said that his party will not allow a single illegal Rohingya, Bangladeshi or Pakistani to remain on Telangana’s electoral rolls. The BJP president also criticised CM Revanth Reddy for making frequent visits to Delhi instead of addressing issues affecting the people of Telangana.“The CM should respond to the concerns of students and the frustrations of unemployed youth over the lack of job opportunities instead of meeting the Congress high command. The youth of Telangana will wage a democratic struggle against the failures of the Congress government in the days ahead. Rather than fulfilling their aspirations, the government is playing with their future,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.He further claimed that nearly 20 lakh students were facing hardship because colleges had withheld certificates over pending fee reimbursement dues. He also demanded a complete overhaul of the Telangana Public Service Commission, referring to reports that original OMR answer sheets were found abandoned on a road.