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Two generations after families of Iranian descent settled in Bihar, adapted to the local environment, and got registered as voters in the state, their descendants now face a daunting task: proving their citizenship under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls. The development comes as the final electoral roll of Bihar is set to be published on Tuesday, with the Election Commission likely to follow it up with the announcement of the poll schedule of the key state next week.According to a report, at least 30 people in Kishanganj have been asked to submit documents to prove their citizenship.Despite their mother tongue being Persian, the Iranian families that live in Kishanganj call themselves Indians.
The families termed the notices as harassment to eventually brand them as foreignersA resident, who identified himself as Tahir Ali, said that alomng with him four others in his family were served notices despite the requisite documents being submitted to the authorities. "Where will we go? Our grandparents and great-grandparents were on the voter list. We can only hope to be treated with justice," he said, according to NDTV report.Residents say that local leaders, who initially promised to get their names added to poll records, shirk their promise within days. "Our ancestors were not illegal, they were not from Bangladesh. We are giving all the documents asked of us and are cooperating with the government. If they want DNA, we will take it out of our ancestors' graves, a resident was quoted as saying by NDTV.For Kamar Abbas, his frustration lies in the repeated removal of his familiy's names from the voter list. BJP leader Sushant Gop said that notices have been given to 28 people of Irani Basti.Final Bihar Voter List to be Published Tuesday (September 30)The final electoral roll of Bihar is set to be published on Tuesday.The poll authority is visiting Patna on October 4 and 5 to take stock of the poll preparedness.The schedule for the assembly elections is likely to be announced next week, according to sources.The first phase of the elections is likely to be held soon after the Chhath festival in late October.Four hundred seventy observers are being deployed by the EC for Bihar and some assembly bypolls.A briefing of general, police and expenditure observers is also set to take place here on October 3.The term of the 243-member Bihar Assembly ends on November 22.The last assembly elections in Bihar were held in three phases amid the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.The final voter list of Bihar is being published following the conclusion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls which was held after a gap of 22 years.The draft electoral rolls were published on August 1 and were open for "claims and objections" by individuals and political parties till September 1.There were 7.24 crore electors in the draft rolls.The SIR has come under sharp criticism from opposition parties who have claimed that it will disenfranchise crores of genuine citizens of their voting rights.
