Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 01 September 2025
Hindu Rashtra Shakti (HRS), Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and top constitutional authorities to take urgent action for the removal of ineligible Nepali nationals from the voters’ list in certain areas of the Islands.
In a memorandum addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioners, the President of India, Prime Minister, and the Union Home Ministry, HRS State President Rakeshwar Lall alleged that the electoral rolls for Lok Sabha and Sri Vijaya Puram Municipal Council elections—particularly in Ward No. 12, Nepali Basti—carry the names of individuals who are citizens of Nepal and not India.
Lall stated that such inclusion violates the Constitution of India and the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which restricts voting rights exclusively to Indian citizens. He pointed out that while the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship provides certain residential and economic privileges, it does not extend political rights such as voting.
Citing the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, where ineligible names of foreign nationals from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar are being struck off through door-to-door verification, the organization demanded a similar process in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. “All individuals unable to provide conclusive proof of Indian citizenship should be removed from the rolls before the next election,” the memorandum stated.
“We expect immediate and decisive action to protect the sanctity of our electoral system,” Lall emphasized in his representation, copies of which were also forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer – A & N Islands, Lieutenant Governor, Chief Secretary, DGP, Deputy Commissioner (South Andaman), and Secretary of Sri Vijaya Puram Municipal Council.
