Navdeep Singh Suri, a former Indian diplomat, raised concerns on Sunday regarding the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Punjab. He stated that he was required to prove his Indian citizenship despite having served as a representative of India on international platforms. Suri’s comments highlight potential issues within the ECI’s verification procedures, especially for individuals with significant diplomatic backgrounds.
Suri was unavailable for comment over the phone.
He said the BLO asked him to collect a notice and return with unspecified documents to establish his Indian citizenship. “I replied that I was not in India in 2003, so they have asked for my passport as proof,” he said. When contacted, Amritsar deputy commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh said: “I will get it checked.”
Neither the ECI, the Punjab government nor the Centre had issued an official statement on the matter at the time of filing this report.
