No change in instructions for SIR in Bihar, says EC after advertisement leads to confusion

Patna: The Election Commission on Sunday asserted that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was "being implemented smoothly at the ground level" and "there is no change in instructions".

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, on Sunday clarified that the revision of voters’ list will be carried out as per the EC directive on SIR. “The voters can fill up and submit their enumeration forms to the BLOs till July 25 but they can submit their documentary proof even during the period when claims and objections are raised in the month of August when the draft roll will be published."

“.....The existing voters will have time to submit the documents even after submitting their enumeration forms. All activities (related to SIR) are as per ECI directive dated June 24,” said the Bihar CEO, reiterating that the EC clarification has come in the wake of advertisements issued in some newspapers.

The poll body was under fire ever since the massive Special Intensive Revision (SIR) meant for verification of voters’ list was started in Bihar last month. Political parties raised concerns over attaching of documents along with the enumeration form (EF). The EC had categorically stated that Aadhaar and PAN should not be attached along with the enumeration form as “Aadhaar is meant for identity of the person, it is not a valid document for the address proof or date of birth.”

Lakhs of voters throughout the State, who got the EF from their respective BLO (booth level officers), were up in arms when they were asked to submit their school/board certificates as date of birth proof and land records or electricity bills as proof of address.

“The EC's move is to disenfranchise the poor and marginalised sections of voters who have only Aadhar as their valid document, which the EC says is not acceptable,” lamented Leader of the Opposition and former Deputy CM of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav.

“Recently, my wife Rajshree got her voter identity card after submitting her Aadhaar as proof. Today, the EC says it’s not a valid document to be submitted with the enumeration form,” rued Tejashwi, who has given a call for Chakka Jam (complete blockade) on July 9 to protest the EC’s whimsical orders.

The clarification comes in the wake of several social media posts, including one by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, about an EC advertisement published in a newspaper claiming "now only forms are to be filled. There is no need to submit documents".

Alleging that the SIR was a "conspiracy by BJP-RSS to snatch away the voting rights of Dalits and other deprived sections", Kharge had said that the BJP, which ruled the Centre and shared power in Bihar, "is now getting trapped in its own master plan".

According to the EC, the exercise was necessitated by rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants.

ADR MOVES SC

The Opposition got a boost when the ADR (Association for Democratic Reforms), the organisation which has helped usher in several electoral reforms, moved the apex court against the EC arbitrary decision.

Former Chief Secretary of Bihar VS Dubey and former DGP Abhayanand were among the civil society members who took EC to task by questioning their orders on the SIR drive. “It’s the job of the Union Home Ministry, not the EC, to ascertain whether one is a citizen of India or not,” argued the retired DGP, Abhayanand.

Rattled over such genuine criticism, the EC on Sunday issued an advertisement in all the vernacular dailies urging the 7.8 crore voters to fill their enumeration form and submit it to their respective BLOs without attaching any document. The draft roll will be published in August wherein any voter may raise objections or get the anomalies corrected, if any. The final draft of the voters’ list will be published in September.

Bihar, which has become the first State where the EC has launched the SIR drive, will have an Assembly election in the month of October and November this year.