During a discussion in the State Assembly on an appropriations bill authorizing expenditure under this budget for the revision of electoral rolls, the opposition flagged complaints about large numbers of Form 7 applications, intended for removing names from electoral rolls, filed in all constituencies without the knowledge of the voters concerned.
The debate started after the BJP government sought passage of an appropriations bill to regularize expenditure on SIR-related work in the state.
While Speaker Shankar Chaudhary had already allowed two Congress MLAs and one AAP lawmaker to speak on the bill, Gujarat Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia raised a point of order and stated that matters relating to the Election Commission of India (EC) cannot be discussed in the State Assembly.
Citing Article 324 of the Constitution, he said the EC is an autonomous constitutional body responsible for conducting Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections and the state government has no power to interfere in its processes, including preparation or revision of electoral rolls.
He submitted that while the state apparatus is carrying out election-related functions, it is strictly under the control of ECI in accordance with the Representation of the People Act.
Issues relating to revisions of electoral rolls, EVMs, VVPATs and related matters are therefore beyond the jurisdiction of the state government, Mr Modhwadia said, while urging the Speaker of the Assembly to ban discussion on the matter.
Supporting the point of order, BJP MLA and former Speaker Ramanlal Vora reiterated that while employees belong to the state, their electoral duties are carried out under the direct control of the EC and therefore the Assembly was not the appropriate forum to question these processes.
However, Congress and AAP members opposed the decision to block the discussion.
Congress MLA Kirit Patel, however, said that while the Legislative Assembly cannot question independent decisions of the EC or cases pending in the court, administrative lapses for which the state government is responsible should be open to debate.
Congress MLA Amit Chavda said protection of constitutional voting rights is of utmost importance in a democracy.
“Since the ground-level machinery, from booth-level officials to election officials, belongs to the state government, this House should investigate errors in preparation of electoral rolls and other administrative errors,” he said.
Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar alleged that since funds from the state exchequer were being used for SIR, the Assembly had the right to debate the manner in which the money was spent.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Speaker, who delivered his ruling, said he had reviewed previous documents and determined that similar discussions on additional demands had been allowed by former Speakers.
Under Article 324, the ECI is autonomous and the Assembly cannot discuss its statutory and constitutional functions, including the SIR exercise, he said in his ruling.
Mr Chaudhary, however, clarified that the members were allowed to discuss the additional requirements and administrative shortcomings of the state machinery involved in the implementation of the exercise.
He warned that there was a “fine line” between criticizing the state administration and attacking the ECI’s autonomy, and warned members not to cross it.
After being allowed to speak, AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava alleged that around January 17 and 18, there was a sudden influx of thousands of Form 7 applications in the constituencies to remove the names of registered voters from the electoral rolls.
He alleged that several such applications were submitted without supporting documents and persons whose names appeared on the forms refused to submit them after being contacted by his team.
Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani invoked the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar to argue that voting is a fundamental right.
“As part of a pre-planned strategy, there was an attempt to delete the names of nearly 14 lakh people belonging to a particular community in Gujarat. Such acts will destroy social harmony in Gujarat. The state government must identify those behind these fraudulent Form 7s, file FIRs and send them to jail,” Mr Mevani said.
He claimed that Non-Declared Tribes (DNT) and nomadic communities, who do not have permanent addresses, could lose their voting rights if even one document is missing.
Congress MLA Amrutji Thakor alleged that the election authorities were not accepting Aadhaar or even EPIC cards as valid documents to enter names in the revised electoral rolls.
On the issue of deleting names through Form 7, Mr Thakor stated that citizens have a democratic right to know who is “actively trying to take away their right to vote by secretly filing these forms against them”.
In his reply, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai said that Form 7 is the prescribed procedure for removing names, but no name will be removed only if it is filed. Booth Level Officers conduct mandatory field verification and, if necessary, hearings are organized before a final decision is made, he added.
After a lengthy debate, the Gujarat (Supplementary) Appropriations Bill, 2026 was passed by majority vote. The Congress and the AAP have not extended their support to the legislation.
Published – Mar 1, 2026 07:42 IST
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