NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has always been a “puppet” in the hands of the Modi government, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has alleged and claimed the poll body’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an “unconstitutional” move aimed at ensuring that majoritarian governments remain in power.In an interview with PTI, Sibal also alleged that each election commissioner surpasses the previous one in his “alignment to this government”.Hitting out at the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the former law minister said the Election Commission (EC) doesn’t have the jurisdiction to decide issues of citizenship.The EC has all along maintained that the revision, being held after 22 years, will cleanse the voters’ list of ineligible people, duplicate entries and include those eligible as per law to vote.Asked about the opposition’s attack on the EC over SIR, Sibal said, “It has always been a puppet in the hands of the government for a long long time ever since this government came to power.”The conduct of the Election Commission, the less said about it, the better, he said. “In fact, each election commissioner surpasses the previous one in his alignment to this government,” Sibal said.On the ongoing SIR, he said, “This is according to me a completely unconstitutional process that is being carried on. The Commission doesn’t have the jurisdiction to decide issues of citizenship and that also by a block level officer.””I have been saying that they (BJP) adopt all possible means to somehow win elections. In fact, this whole particular process of a special intensive revision is a process to ensure majoritarian governments for all times to come,” the senior advocate said.”This is the intent because if you delete the names of the poor people, the marginalised, the adivasis, you will ensure that the majoritarian party always wins. So this is yet another way of ensuring that and this is very worrisome,” he said.
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