Mumbai: The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, process has been facing continuous questions from Congress and opposition parties. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam has hit back at Congress’s allegations and defended SIR. He questioned the ‘vote theft’ allegations being made by Congress and raised the issue of the need to cleanse the electoral rolls.
Sanjay Nirupam also commented on the Congress Working Committee meeting and, citing the number of claims during the SIR in Bihar, questioned why the number of claims and objections was comparatively low despite a large number of voters being identified.
He also mentioned the names of Bangladeshi citizens allegedly removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal and asked Congress whether such people were its vote bank. This is a political allegation made by Sanjay Nirupam. Available official records do not establish such people collectively as ‘Congress voters’.
Sanjay Nirupam Calls SIR a Statutory Process
Sanjay Nirupam said that the Election Commission is conducting the SIR process for revision of electoral rolls and described it as a statutory process. He said that names of people who do not meet the eligibility conditions or whose status has changed are being identified in the electoral rolls.
During the SIR in Bihar, the Election Commission had stated that around 22 lakh deceased voters, around 7 lakh voters registered at more than one location, and around 35 lakh voters who had permanently shifted or could not be traced had been identified.
The Election Commission had also said that the objective of SIR is to ensure the participation of eligible voters and prevent ineligible persons from being included in the electoral rolls. The Commission had also provided eligible voters whose names were left out an opportunity to have their names included through the claims and objections process.
Congress Continues to Raise Questions
Congress and other opposition parties have raised questions over the removal of names from electoral rolls, the document process and transparency in relation to SIR. According to recent reports, petitions have also been filed and hearings held in the Supreme Court regarding the Election Commission’s process.
On the other hand, the Election Commission says that the objective of SIR is to make the electoral rolls more accurate and that eligible voters should not be excluded. The Commission has also provided information about certain changes in the process and steps taken for the convenience of voters.
Debate Over SIR Intensifies Amid Political Statements
The political debate between the ruling side and the opposition over SIR continues to intensify. While Sanjay Nirupam has stressed the need to remove deceased, shifted and duplicate names from electoral rolls, opposition parties have raised concerns about the possibility of genuine voters’ names being removed during the process and questions related to transparency.
In such a situation, to understand the final status of SIR, it will be important to examine the official electoral rolls, claims and objections, and data on names that were re-included separately.
