Without understanding Bihar, EC forcibly imposed SIR: JD(U) MP
An MP of the Janata Dal (United) party waded into the controversy over the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral roll, saying the exercise has been “forcefully imposed” by the Election Commission, without understanding the “history or geography” of the state.
The comment by Giridhari Yadav, who is an MP from Banka in Bihar and belongs to the JD(U), a key ally of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, is likely to accentuate the unease within the government.
The JD(U) lawmaker said, “The Election Commission has no practical knowledge. It neither knows the history nor geography of Bihar. It took me 10 days to collect all the documents required for the SIR exercise. My son stays in America, how will he complete all the formalities in just a month?”
“This special intensive revision has been imposed on us forcefully,” Yadav told reporters outside Parliament on Wednesday, adding that at least six-month time should have been given for the exercise.
However, the JD(U) MP clarified that this was his personal opinion. On being prodded whether this reflected the party’s sentiment, he said, “It doesn’t matter what the party is saying… this is the truth. If I cannot say the truth, why have I become an MP?” said Yadav.
In its defence, the poll panel has said that the revision – which is a “constitutionally-mandated” exercise — is necessary to remove individuals who may have died or migrated or may have been registered twice.
On July 22, the poll panel had said that around 55 lakh voters of Bihar faced the likelihood of being deleted from the electoral rolls. Last week, the EC had further said that a significant number of ‘voters’ were from foreign countries.
The Opposition has alleged that the SIR exercise has been ordered by the BJP and targets voters from the marginalised, migrant and poorer communities that they see as their (Opposition’s) voter base.
They have also criticised the commission’s decision to exclude commonly accepted and government-issued IDs, including the Aadhaar and its own identity card, for voter verification.
India