Munish Gupta
NEW DELHI: UNDETERRED by conspiracy theorists trying to deflect India’s march towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, the Election Commission has kicked off second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, after completing the Herculean task in Bihar.
Besides poll bound poll-bound Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, and Puducherry the second phase will cover Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, and Gujarat, and Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The exercise will cover 51 crore voters.
For now, there will be no SIR in Assam, scheduled to vote next year, and a separate order will be issued for the State later, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said. This, he said, was because the state was covered by special provisions for determining citizenship. As of October 28, the SIR process has concluded in Bihar, the state from which it was launched in the first phase a few months back, and final rolls published.
Periodic revision
Periodical revision of electoral lists is an essential requisite for democracy. Names of voters who have died or shifted their residence, or of those who have multiple votes, need to be removed from the electoral rolls. The names of new voters, who have attained the minimum age of voting age, need to be added.
As thinkers from John Locke to Ambedkar have emphasised in different contexts, the legitimacy of the state rests on the consent and confidence of the governed. This makes it not only a right, but also a duty, of the state to ensure that only eligible citizens are given the opportunity to vote freely, fairly, and meaningfully.
In ensuring rightful inclusion and lawful exclusion through SIR, the Election Commission of India is fulfilling its constitutional duty of protecting the sanctity of the franchise.
The objective of the R o u n d – 2 exercise – which the ECI will pan out throughout the country in phases – is to “ensure that no eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll.”
While the ruling BJP has welcomed SIR as essential for purging illegal voters from the electoral rolls, the Opposition is alleging that it is a conspiracy to manipulate elections in favour of the Government in power. CEC Kumar has strongly refuted these charges. “ECI has been conducting free and fair elections as an independent constitutional body. Its work has been acknowledged worldwide,” he pointed out.
The special intensive revision that was undertaken in Bihar clearly shows that common voters have no objections about the process. The poll body received a negligible number of complaints. This is why those who had opposed Bihar SIR have now changed their tune.
