Amid mounting criticim over the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission on Thursday in a statement defended the exercise, asking if the poll body should instead be allowing “the dead, those who have migrated permanently or have registered themselves as electors at multiple places be included in the voters’ list.””The Constitution of India is the mother of Indian democracy….So, fearing these things, should the Election Commission, getting misled by some people, pave the way for some to cast fake votes in the name of deceased voters, voters who have migrated permanently, voters who have got their votes registered at two places, fake voters or foreign voters, going against the Constitution, first in Bihar, then in the entire country?” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar asked in a statement. “Isn’t the authentic voter list being prepared by the Election Commission through a transparent process, the foundation stone for fair elections and a strong democracy? On these questions, sometimes or the other, all of us and all the citizens of India will have to think deeply, going beyond political ideologies. And perhaps the most appropriate time for this essential thinking for all of you has now arrived in India,” he added. The statement comes amid opposition parties’ mounting criticism of the poll body, alleging that the voter list revision is aimed at disenfranchising specific voter groups ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar, in the interest of the BJP-led central government.
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