India News | CPI Urges EC to Stop SIR, Cites 'danger of Mass Disenfranchisement'

New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) Mass disenfranchisement remains a "very real danger" for the poor in Bihar in the ongoing SIR exercise, CPI(ML) Liberation told the Election Commission on Tuesday, urging it to withdraw the circular and conduct the forthcoming polls in the state on the basis of updated version of the electoral rolls used for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

This was communicated to the EC by a delegation of the CPI(Marxist-?Leninist) Liberation, who met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the election commissioners and submitted a detailed memorandum expressing strong objections to the ongoing SIR exercise.

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The delegation, comprising Rajaram Singh (MP, Karakat and CPI(ML) floor leader in the Lok Sabha), Sudama Prasad (MP, Ara), Shyam Chandra Chaudhary (secretary, Bihar State Committee) and Sanjay Sharma (central headquarters, CPI(ML), raised concerns about alleged procedural violations, exclusionary practices, and the danger of "mass disenfranchisement of the poor, migrant, and young voters," the party said.

In its memorandum, the CPI(ML) questioned the claims of BLOs coming across large numbers of foreign nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar in their house-to-house visits. They also questioned the figures of likely deletion from the rolls.

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"Did the summary revision fail to note this and revise the rolls accordingly?" they asked.

The party pointed out that though there is a provision for migrants to fill the form online, which was "belatedly" pulicised in newspapers, many may not have access to information and internet facilities.

They also said it is "well known" that large numbers of electors do not have the documents mentioned in the EC's indicative list of eleven documents.

"On the basis of our experience of the first four weeks of the SIR drive in Bihar, we are afraid that mass disenfranchisement remains a very real danger for Bihar's poor, women, migrant workers and young electors, with all its alarming consequences," the CPI(ML) said.

"We therefore once again urge the EC to withdraw the SIR circular and conduct the forthcoming Assembly elections of Bihar on the basis of a duly updated version of the electoral rolls used for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," they said.

The EC, in its statement, said the meeting is in continuation of the interactions being held by ECI with the presidents of various national and state political parties.

"These interactions provide for a long-felt need of constructive discussions which enable national and state party presidents to share their suggestions and concerns directly with the commission," it said.

"This initiative aligns with the commission's broader vision of further strengthening the electoral process in accordance with the existing legal framework with all stakeholders," it said.

The EC added that in March, a total of 4,719 all-party meetings were conducted, including 40 meetings by CEOs, 800 by DEOs, and 3879 by EROs, engaging over 28,000 representatives of various political parties.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)