Owaisi criticises denial of welfare benefits to people excluded from voters list post SIR

Ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls scheduled to be conducted in Telangana this month, Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday (January 6, 2026) criticised the reported denial of welfare benefits to people excluded after the exercise in West Bengal. He questioned why access to rations, other government schemes be contingent upon a person’s name being on the voter list when Aadhaar-based verification already exists.

Mr. Owaisi, who is the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), alleged that people excluded during the SIR exercise in West Bengal were being denied Public Distribution System (PDS) rations and other welfare benefits. He said this included individuals marked as “absent” or “shifted”. Apart from these, people who did not receive voter slips during the last election, even though many of them were genuine voters, were also affected.

“Why should access to ration or welfare depend on whether your name is on the voter list? What is the point of Aadhaar authentication if the voter roll is being used as the deciding factor?” he asked.

Mr. Owaisi said government welfare schemes were meant for all eligible citizens and should not be linked to voter registration. He further alleged that the move appeared to be aimed at reducing the number of beneficiaries and would particularly affect poor people, women, Scheduled Castes and Muslims. Mr Owaisi said welfare schemes were funded by public money and were the right of every eligible citizen.

The AIMIM president has been actively touring Assembly segments in the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency in recent days, interacting with residents and urging them to participate in the SIR exercise. In padyatras, he has been announcing voter mapping procedures and clarifying aspects of SIR registration.

Clearing confusion on non resident Indians and SIR, Mr. Owaisi while touring Yakutpura constituency said, “It is necessary to fill the enumeration form given by the BLOs. For those persons who live abroad, any member of their family can fill the form on their behalf and sign it.”

The party has launched awareness campaigns and assistance programmes ahead of the electoral roll revision exercise in Telangana. Help desks across the State have also been set up.