Minta Devi, a resident from Siwan in Bihar and who became the name and face of the Opposition’s protest against the Election Commission on Tuesday expressed her discontentment as leaders used her identity for their allegations on voter fraud.
The 35-year-old Minta Devi’s age was recorded as 124 years in the electoral rolls, prompting the opposition leaders to use her case in the Congress party’s “Voter Chori (vote theft)” campaign.
The Bihar woman however, said that she was “sad to be used politically and made a pawn” in this way and urged the poll panel to rectify the mistake.
This comes after several Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wore t-shirts with Minta Devi’s face and name emblazoned on it during a protest outside the Parliament against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar.
Minta Devi said that the error happened after her date of birth was recorded in the voter ID card as 1900, instead of the correct date of birth which was 1990.
“I do not know what is going on in the parliament, but my date of birth mentioned in the Aadhar card is July 15, 1990. I had given my Aadhar to my brother-in-law who had applied for the voter identity card online two months ago,” said Minta Devi.
She further said that the application was made in Siwan and that she had not checked her voter card when she received it.
“I am a housewife, I am sad to be used politically and made a pawn in this way. My only request is that my voter ID be corrected,” Devi told the reporters.
“I did not check my voter id when I received it. It was only after the media met me that I saw my date was printed as July 15, 1900. It is the mistake of the person who has issued the voter card. Those who are responsible for this mistake must rectify it and issue me a fresh voter ID card,” she added.
As per reports, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra raised big questions on the mistake of the Election Commission and claimed that there were multiple cases on electoral rolls with fake data – names, family addresses.
Minta Devi said her family want to escape the sudden publicity as it is a mental torture to her family.
She lashed out at the Congress MP from Wayanad and said, “Who is Priyanka Gandhi to print my face in a T-shirt and wear it and oppose me? I have been facing problems since morning. People have been calling me. Reporters have been turning up at my doorstep.”
“It is no business of Priyanka Gandhi. Why is she interfering? The mistake in the voter ID card is not her fault, she pointed out. Why is she opposing me?” she added.
Meanwhile, the Siwan District Magistrate’s office issued a press statement saying the age shown in Devi’s voter card was due to a “human error” and that the process of correction has already started.
The Election Commission have defended the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) exercise in Bihar, saying many “non-eligible persons” have been able to procure voter cards as the SIR was not held periodically since 2004.
