Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Apr 8: Gopalayya Appu Koteyar (67), and his wife Sunanda Gopal Koteyar (62) are yet to get the right to vote despite having resided in Udupi for 11 years.

They came here from Maharashtra over a decade ago and despite having all the essential documents, are unable to exercise their franchise, allegedly due to the panchayat’s fault.

Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday April 8, Gopalayya said that a couple of days ago, he received a letter from the village tahsildar informing him that his name and that of his wife were missing from the voters' list. The letter apologized for this error and added that their names would be enrolled next year after the revaluation process.

Gopalayya shared his feelings with the media and said that he had cancelled both their names in the voters' list in Mumbai but still they had not been added to the list here despite submitting all required details to the panchayat. “In the previous year, the BJP and the Congress promised to ensure our enrollment but this has not yet been completed,” he said.

He said that he sent a copy to the authorities concerned also and said that being an educated and informed person, if he was facing such a situation, what would the situation of poor people who might be caught in this web be.

"Voting is my birthright and no one can snatch it from me. In the coming days, I will exercise my right to file a petition," he said. 

At present he lives in Manipal with his family and is an active member of the local AAP unit.

He concluded saying that he was a senior citizen and must get his voter ID ahead of the Lok Sabha election failing which both he and his wife would go on a hunger strike on Friday April 11 at 10.30 am at the DC office.