Explained: SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar and why the political uproar

Patna: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has triggered a major political controversy in Bihar, where assembly polls are due later this year, with the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc alleging that it was designed to "benefit the ruling NDA", a charge denied by the EC that is carrying out the massive exercise.

The issue has also reached the Supreme Court, which will hear petitions on July 10 challenging the Election Commission's decision to carry out the exercise in Bihar.

Here is the explainer on the issue: What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The Election Commission (EC) on June 24 issued a notification to begin a door-to-door verification of Bihar's eight crore voters.

According to the process, all voters in the state are required to sign enumeration forms, in duplicates, that come with their names, addresses and photographs printed, and return these with fresh photographs along with a valid proof of residence.

However, those whose names were not in the electoral rolls of 2003, will have to provide additional documents, a feature of the SIR that has been the main bone of contention.

The objective of SIR is to ensure that the names of all eligible citizens are included in the electoral rolls so as to enable them to exercise their franchise. The last intensive revision for Bihar was conducted by the poll panel in 2003.

The exercise is being executed by 1 lakh booth-level officers (BLOs), aided by 4 lakh volunteers and thousands of booth-level agents (BLAs) nominated by political parties.

Why the political uproar? The SIR has been under attack from the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, which has alleged that it was designed to "benefit the ruling NDA", and that the poll panel which had allegedly helped the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra by "adding fake voters", was now trying to "wrongfully delete" the names of many such people in Bihar who were unlikely to vote for the ruling dispensation.

The opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, led by Tejashwi Yadav and supported by CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, has moved the Supreme Court against the SIR. A protest march to the EC office in Patna was led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

Concerns are also being voiced over a clause that states EROs "will refer cases of suspected foreign nationals to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955", which, it is feared, could be used against a large number of "unwanted" voters in the Seemanchal region bordering Nepal.

What are their key concerns

*Targeted timing: Why is this being done only in Bihar and right before elections? *Exclusion fears: They allege that the EC aims to delete voters unlikely to support the NDA.

*Document burden: Over 3 crore people who weren't in the 2003 rolls face a heavier documentation process.

*Youth scrutiny: Voters born after 1987 must now also furnish their parents’ date and place of birth -- if their parents weren't listed in 2003.

*Unacceptable exclusions: Common documents like Aadhaar and MNREGA cards are not accepted as valid ID.

*Fears over disenfranchisement and misuse: The clause empowering Electoral Registration Officers to decide on "claims and objections" has raised an alarm, with opposition leaders fearing misuse.

What is EC's response? The poll panel has maintained that the revision is lawful and constitutional. So far, the door-to-door process has covered 2.88 crore voters (approximately 36.5 per cent).

Ground realities

Citizens are flagging serious issues in the implementation of SIR.

"I was aghast to see that my son's address was listed as a cremation ground ('shamshaan ghat'). My daughter-in-law's address was left blank," said a resident of Muzaffarpur, who requested anonymity.

What opposition leaders say

"Why has this exercise been ordered only in Bihar

when in 2003 a similar revision of electoral rolls was undertaken for the entire country? And why just before the assembly polls? If it was so urgent, why was the work not started immediately after last year's Lok Sabha elections," RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who leads the INDIA bloc charge in the upcoming elections, said.

His ally Dipankar Bhattacharya, the general secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation, claims that the EC has opted for a "logistical nightmare" and that it was almost impossible to complete, by July 25, the exercise that involves more than eight crore voters, most of them living in areas that are ravaged by floods during monsoons.

Plea in apex court

The Supreme Court on Thursday will hear a batch of petitions challenging the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar. Several fresh pleas, including a joint petition by opposition parties -- Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party, JMM, CPI and CPI (ML) -- were filed in the apex court against the poll panel's decision to conduct the exercise before the state goes to polls later this year.