PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1085
(67)
*PETITION OF MAHILA SAMITI, JAIPUR, REGARDING WOMEN VOTERS OF RAJASTHAN
1266. Shrimati Durgabai (on behalf of Shrimati Renuka Ray): ( a ) Will the Minister of Law be pleased to refer to the answers given to supplementary questions raised on Starred Question No. 534 asked on the 27th August, 1951 and state whether the omission of the names of women voters was due to the fact that their proper names were not initially put down by the officials who prepared the lists ;
( b ) Is it a fact that these officials did not get instructions to take proper names of the women concerned which resulted in the omission of their names from the electoral rolls ?
The Minister of Law (Dr. Ambedkar): ( a ) No, Sir. The officials who prepared the lists initially were unable to get the real names of women voters in some States. I understand that this was due to the disinclination of the women, as well as their relatives, to disclose their names.
( b ) The Election Commission had issued specific instructions to State Governments that women voters must be registered by their proper names and not as “wife of ” or “daughter of ” and so. The State Governments were also instructed to make every effort through governmental agencies to ascertain the real names of women voters who were not registered on the rolls by their actual names. The public were so invited to assist in this task. It was not due to lack of proper instructions that the names could not be entered in the rolls in the prescribed manner.
Shrimati Durgabai: Sir, will you be so good as to allow one or two supplementary questions ?
Mr. Deputy Speaker : No, this is not the Question-hour.
Shri Sondhi : And the hon. Member knows the rules herself.
*P. D., Vol. 10, Part I, 25th September 1951, p. 1666.