No Bihar vote deletion without probe, EC tells Cong

As the opposition Congress on Thursday attacked the Election Commission (EC) for ordering a special intensive revision (SIR) of the Bihar voter list just a few months ahead of the Assembly elections, the poll panel clarified that no vote would be deleted from the draft electoral roll without a proper inquiry and giving the complainant a fair hearing.

The Congress also alleged that the EC move was meant to disenfranchise nearly 2 crore of its key voter base comprising mainly the poor, Dalits and migrant workers.

The EC, for its part, maintained that the final electoral roll would be published on September 30 after disposing of all claims and objections. “Any elector aggrieved by the decision of the electoral roll officer (ERO) may appeal to the District Magistrate within 15 days of the order. A further appeal may be filed with the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days,” the EC said in a statement. Hard and soft copies of the final roll would be provided free of cost to all recognised political parties and published on the EC website, it said.

In a detailed response to the Congress’ allegations, the EC “decoded” the entire SIR exercise by elaborating that once the draft roll was published on August 1, the names for which no enumeration forms were received till July 25 (the deadline for providing documents for the draft roll) will not appear in it. However, those who miss out on the initial deadline could still apply during the claims and objections period using Form 6 along with a declaration form.

The EC further said that from August 1 to September 1, claims and objections could be filed against the existing entries in the draft roll. No deletion would be made without due inquiry and providing the concerned person a fair hearing, the poll panel said.

“Daily lists of claims and objections will be displayed at the ERO offices and published on the Chief Electoral Officer’s website. Weekly updates will also be shared with political parties,” the EC said.

Addressing the media earlier in the day, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera, party’s Bihar president Rajesh Ram and state in charge Krishna Allavaru questioned the rationale and feasibility of verifying over 8 crore Bihar voters within a mere 30 days.

Khera accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of functioning with political bias, alleging he was deciding who he would and whom he wouldn’t allow to vote. “At this rate, the EC might as well shift its office to the BJP headquarters,” Khera quipped. The criticism came a day after INDIA bloc leaders met EC officials, but were allegedly restricted from fully participating in the meeting.

Rajesh highlighted Bihar’s logistical challenges, including widespread migration, floods in the north, drought in the south and the lack of basic documentation among the marginalised communities. “How can you verify voters in flood-hit zones? Will the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) travel on boats?” he asked, noting that only 2.18 per cent of the SC, ST, and OBC population in Bihar had birth certificates.

He also raised concerns about resource constraints, citing overworked BLOs and numerous vacancies in the electoral machinery. “There is neither staff nor infrastructure to carry out such a massive exercise in 30 days,” he said.

Allavaru slammed the move as a “Tughlaki” diktat. “In India’s electoral history, has any state ever been asked to furnish the proof of 8 crore voters who voted just 12 months ago during the Lok Sabha elections? What changed in a year?” he said.

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