Bihar Electoral Roll Controversy
ECI reiterated that before every election, revision of electoral roll is mandatory as per section 21(2)(a) of the Representation of People Act 1950 and Rule 25 of the Registration of Elector Rules 1960.
New Delhi: Dismissing Opposition’s protest against Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Mr Gyanesh Kumar on Monday said the objective of SIR is to ensure no voter is left out, and, at the same time also to see that no ineligible voter is included in the electoral roll.
Justifying the move for SIR for which the electors have to provide any one of the listed 11 documents to prove their domicile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said the SIR is needed as the electoral roll keeps changing due to a variety of reasons and the Constitution mandates it to ensure that only eligible citizens are part of the voters' list and ineligible people do not encroach the rights of genuine people and get to vote.
ECI reiterated that before every election, revision of electoral roll is mandatory as per section 21(2)(a) of the Representation of People Act 1950 and Rule 25 of the Registration of Elector Rules 1960.
Several Opposition parties have said that the intensive revision carries the risk of willful exclusion of voters using the state machinery. The Opposition has also accused the government of bringing the National Register for Citizens (NRC) through the backdoor, using the Election Commission. On its part the government is trying to ensure illegal migrants and foreigners are weeded out of the system.
Rejecting claims of exclusion, the CEC said more than one lakh volunteers have been deployed to assist elderly, sick, persons with disability (PwD) and marginalised groups in filling up their Enumeration Forms,” the CEC said.
On Monday the ECI uploaded the 2003 electoral roll of Bihar comprising details of 4.96 crore electors, on its website. This list can be used by those in the 2003 list as documentary evidence while submitting their enumeration form. ECI said 4.96 crore electors and children of these voters need not submit any other document relating to their parents. ECI said that going by 2003 electoral rolls of Bihar nearly 60 per cent of the total electorate would not have to submit any documents as they have to just verify their details from the 2003 electoral rolls and submit the filled-up enumeration form.
The ECI has instructed electoral officers to make the Electoral Rolls with qualifying date of January 1, 2003 freely available to all BLOs in hard copy, as well as, online on their website for anyone to download and use as documentary evidence while submitting their Enumeration Form.
“Further, anyone whose name is not in the 2003 Bihar Electoral Roll can still use the extract of 2003 Electoral Roll rather than providing any other documents for his/her mother or father. In such cases, no other document would be required for his/her mother or father. Only the relevant extract/details of the 2003 ER would be sufficient. Such electors would have to submit the documents, only for themselves, along with the filled-up Enumeration Form,” ECI added.