'Daadi bana diya': ‘124-year-old' first-time voter in Bihar electoral rolls reacts; was on Oppn T-shirts at Parliament

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

Minta Devi, the "first time" voter at '124 years' in the Bihar draft electoral rolls, has said that the Election Commission has made her a grandma. Minta Devi told reporters that she was thrilled about casting her vote for the first time at age 35.(ANI)
"How can I be blamed for the goof-up? I had filled up my enumeration form online, after having waited in vain for a visit by the booth-level officer," the 35-year-old was quoted as saying by PTI.
Her remarks come on a day opposition MPs led by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a demonstration in the national capital, wearing t-shirts with Minta Devi's name and photo and "124 not out" printed on them.
The Siwan district administration has said that it has reached out to Devi, the would-be voter of the Daraunda assembly segment and remedial steps were taken well before the anomaly made headlines.
Devi, meanwhile, told reporters that she was thrilled about casting her vote for the first time at age 35.
'I am thrilled that, finally, at the age of 35, I may get a chance to cast my vote. Many polls have passed since I became eligible but somehow my name never made it to the voters' list. If the EC has made me a grandma (daadi bana diya) in the process, it is fine with me,' Devi was quoted as saying by PTI.
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She added that she stated her year of birth as 1990 in the form.
"I have nothing to fear. I had stated my year of birth as 1990, the same as in my Aadhar card. I cannot help it if in the draft rolls 1990 has been made 1900," she said.
What Siwan administration said
As the anomaly in Devi's age in the records made headlines, the Siwan district administration said that it has obtained an application from the 35-year-old for rectifying the error.
'An application was obtained from Minta Devi on August 10 for rectifying the error, to which her attention was drawn by the BLO. It will be dealt with during the claims and objections phase (of special intensive revision of electoral rolls)', it said.
(Inputs from PTI)