এনআরসির ভয়ে ভোট দিতে আসছেন প্রতিবন্ধী, শয্যাশায়ীরাও
Fear of getting deleted from NRC, 52 year old differently-able voter comes for voting

April 18: A fear-psychosis has gripped the voters of Assam wherein National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated. Citizens are scared by the rumour that if any voter does not cast his/her vote during the ongoing parliamentary election than his/her name would get deleted from the NRC. This unfounded fear-psychosis has infact increased the voter turn-out in various polling centres of the state.

On 18 April, when the second phase of polling was underway, such incidents occurred in many of the polling booths.  A number of differently-able voters were seen to accompany their kith and kin in the polling stations.  One such incident was reported from Nityamayi Vidyalaya, Tarapur, Silchar. A 52-year old female voter Bijoya Paul, a patient of paralysis was seen to come to this polling centre along with two companions with great difficulty.

Bijoya Paul exercised her franchise at Room No. 2 of Nityamayi Vidyalaya, Tarapur, Silchar. While speaking to way2barak, Bijoya Paul said, “I am very much scared, that if I do not vote than my name will be struck-off from the final draft of NRC. That is why. I have taken all the pains to come to the polling centre.” When our correspondent tried to convince her that this fear of her was baseless, Bijoya Paul said, “My father-in-law Radhika Mohan Paul didn’t cast his vote in the year 1971. As a result, many of our family members were served D-voters notice a few years ago. I don’t want that history should repeat in case of my other family members. That is why, I have come to vote with much difficulty.”

Bijoya Paul is not the sole instance of such kind of unfounded fear. There are reports from various polling booths in Barak valley where many blind and infirm voters have come to caste their vote undertaking much pain. The Bengali-speaking victims of Barak Valley probably does not want to take any risk inspite of repeated assurance by the government that such type of fear is totally baseless.