DC Edit | Fair Rolls Onus On EC, Not Voter
As per the directives, the EC will have to accept Aadhaar card as one of the documents to prove a voter’s eligibility for being retained on the electoral roll. The EC has also been directed to accept the documents submitted electronically
The Supreme Court’s latest instructions to the Election Commission of India (EC) with respect to the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar will help make the process more voter-friendly and transparent.
As per the directives, the EC will have to accept Aadhaar card as one of the documents to prove a voter’s eligibility for being retained on the electoral roll. The EC has also been directed to accept the documents submitted electronically. Aadhaar numbers have no solid legal backing yet, but most Indians possess one, and hence it will help many retain their voting right while the facility to submit the documents electronically will help those who are outside the state, especially the migrant labour, meet the EC’s requirements.
The EC has of late announced that it has received the documents 98.2 per cent of the electors in the draft voters list; it is expected that it will touch 100 per cent with several days to go for the publication of the final list on September 30. While the news is welcome, the concern most people have raised is not about those who have been retained on the draft list but about the 65 lakh people who have been removed from the rolls. The two measures the SC has announced will help many of them to get back to the rolls. The SC has also asked the political parties to be part of the process and help the electors submit the documents.
The crucial issue, however, is about the power of the EC to remove a voter from the list without giving the affected person a chance to voice his version of the case. It is only with the intervention of the court that the EC has even published the list of “evictees”.
While none should object to the attempts of the EC to sanctify the electoral roll, there must be legal protection for the citizen to retain his name on the list unless the EC can prove that a name needs to be removed from the rolls as per the law. In other words, the revision being just and fair must be the responsibility of the EC, and not the voter.
