Indian voters disqualified

The Indian Election Commission has ordered the deletion of more than three hundred and fifty thousand voters from the electoral rolls in the north-eastern state of Assam.

They will be unable to vote in next month's parliamentary elections.

The commission has also turned down more than two million applications for registration as new voters in neighbouring West Bengal.

Observers say the commission is being sensitive to allegations of large-scale infiltration into states bordering Bangladesh.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service