Owaisi urges Telangana govt to issue PRCs for voters amid SIR
Synopsis
With thousands of poor, minority, BC, SC, and ST voters at risk of exclusion from Telangana's final electoral roll, Owaisi has taken his PRC demand directly to the Chief Secretary — citing Karnataka's model and the state's own databases as ready solutions. The Congress government's response will signal whether it is serious about inclusive voter registration.
Key Takeaways
Asaduddin Owaisi met Telangana Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju on 10 July to demand issuance of PRCs or Family Register Certificates for voters in the ongoing SIR .
He was accompanied by Faheem Qureshi of TMREIS and invoked Article 162 as the legal basis for the state to act.
Karnataka 's PRC model under the Sakala Services Act, 2011 was cited as a workable precedent.
Owaisi pointed to Telangana 's own databases — including the Samagra Kutumba Survey and Food Security Card records — as sufficient for issuing PRCs.
He had first raised the issue on 6 July and had separately flagged it with Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka .
The Revanth Reddy government has not yet publicly responded to the demand.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday, 10 July met Telangana Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju in Hyderabad, pressing the state government to issue Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) or Family Register Certificates to eligible voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The Hyderabad MP argued that without such documents, thousands of poor residents — including minorities, Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes — risk being excluded from the final voter list.
What Owaisi Demanded
Owaisi was accompanied by Faheem Qureshi, president and vice chairman of the Telangana Minority Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS), during the meeting. He urged Chief Secretary Jaju to recommend that the Revanth Reddy government issue PRCs or Family Register Certificates under Article 162 of the Constitution, which grants states executive authority in areas where Parliament has not legislated.
According to Owaisi, accepting this demand would ease the burden on economically weaker residents who lack formal documentation and are at risk of being left off the final SIR list. He also posted his position on social media, stating that a positive decision would save poor people 'many troubles and inconvenience.'
The Karnataka Precedent
The AIMIM chief cited the example of Karnataka, where the state government issues PRC certificates through a government order under the Karnataka Sakala Services Act, 2011. He argued that Telangana already possesses the institutional infrastructure to do the same — pointing to the Samagra Kutumba Survey, the Socio Economic and Caste Survey of 2024 and 2025, the BHU Bharati Act 2025, the Food Security Card database of the Civil Supplies Department, municipal tax records, and school and board records as reliable data sources.
A Demand That Predates This Meeting
This is not the first time Owaisi has raised the issue. On 6 July, he had publicly urged the Telangana government to immediately begin issuing PRCs, warning that the document gap was a concrete threat to voter inclusion. He also revealed he had already flagged the matter with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and was separately seeking an appointment with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
Addressing the ruling Indian National Congress (Congress) party directly, Owaisi cautioned that it should not wait until after the final voter list is published to 'console' excluded residents or allege a conspiracy. 'If there is a conspiracy, they should find a solution to counter it, and the solution is PRCs,' he said.
What Happens Next
The Telangana government has not yet publicly responded to the demand. The outcome of the Chief Secretary meeting and any potential directive to issue PRCs under state executive powers will be closely watched, particularly given the scale of the SIR exercise and the volume of residents potentially affected by documentation gaps.
Point of View
He puts the Congress government in an uncomfortable position. Telangana already has the databases — the Samagra Kutumba Survey, caste surveys, food security records — to issue PRCs at scale. The government's hesitation is harder to defend given that Karnataka has already operationalised a comparable mechanism. If significant numbers of poor and minority voters are ultimately dropped from the final SIR list, the Congress will own that outcome, and Owaisi will have a documented paper trail showing he flagged it in advance.
NationPress
10 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PRC demand Owaisi made to the Telangana government?
Owaisi demanded that the Telangana government issue Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) or Family Register Certificates to eligible voters under Article 162, so that residents lacking formal documents are not excluded from the final voter list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He argues the state has sufficient databases to do this without delay.
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Telangana?
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an exercise to update and clean up Telangana's electoral rolls. Residents must establish residency and identity to remain on or be added to the voter list, and those without adequate documentation risk exclusion from the final list.
Why has Owaisi cited Karnataka as a precedent?
The Karnataka government issues PRC certificates through a government order under the Karnataka Sakala Services Act, 2011, providing a ready legal and administrative model. Owaisi argues Telangana can replicate this approach using its own state databases.
Which communities does Owaisi say are most at risk?
Owaisi has specifically flagged poor residents, minorities, Backward Classes (BCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as the groups most likely to lack formal documentation and therefore most vulnerable to exclusion during the SIR process.
Has the Telangana government responded to the demand?
As of 10 July, the Telangana government had not issued a public response to Owaisi's demand. The Chief Secretary received the delegation, but no official directive on issuing PRCs had been announced.
