HYDERABAD, April 30, 2014
Updated: April 30, 2014 23:38 IST
Not allowed to vote for want of poll slip, retired army official’s wife says ‘something fishy’.
Retired Lieutenant General M.A. Zaki was in for shock on Wednesday when polling officials at Mehdipatnam denied him and his wife the right to vote as they didn’t have the poll slips.
The octogenarian, accompanied by his wife, went to the polling station early in the morning carrying the elector’s photo identity card and Aadhaar card as well. After waiting for an hour, they entered the booth only to be told that they cannot vote because they didn’t bring the poll slips.
“It was announced on TV that one can vote by presenting an ID proof if poll slip is not available. We feel something fishy. Were we not allowed because we are Muslims?,” wondered Ms. Zaki.
Speaking over phone, she wondered how she and her husband were at fault if the government didn’t issue poll slips.
The senior citizen felt pained at the way officials acted despite producing the voter ID and Aadhaar cards. Ms. Zaki maintained that her husband had checked their names in the voters’ list online and only after confirming they had gone to the polling station with valid cards.