Displaced Kashmiri Pandits demonstrate to demand inclusion in voter's list

Jammu, Mar 24 (ANI): Displaced Kashmiri Pandits staged a protest in front of the Election Commission office in Jammu, demanding inclusion in the voter's list.

Kashmiri Pandits, who have migrant's status in the region, want their names to be included in the voter's list so that they can exercise their franchise in the upcoming general elections.

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Expressing their lament over being left out from the voter's list, they said out of 1,54,000 Kashmiri Pandits registered in the Relief Commissioner's Office, only 22, 818 have been included in the voter's list.

"We want the right to vote. We appeal to the Election Commission to complete our voter profile and include our names in the voter's list. This is injustice. We are not demanding blood, we are demanding ballot," said A.N. Vaishnavi, a protester.

Election officials said they were doing the needful.

"Their demand for more representation in the voter list is genuine, and we have advised them to fill up their forms, so that their registration can be completed and their names can be put on the voter list," said B.R. Sharma, Chief Election Commissioner, Jammu.

India will hold a five-phased general election between April 16 and May 13 in which 714million people will cast their votes to elect a new Central Government. (ANI)