'Exercise of exclusion': I.N.D.I.A. bloc warns of 'intensified movement' against Bihar SIR

New Delhi: Describing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls as an “exercise of exclusion”, I.N.D.I.A parties on Sunday warned of an “intensified movement” next month claiming that the exercise will leave a large number of electors out of voters’ list owing to their inability to provide documents of proof.

As the Supreme Court is set to hear the petitions challenging the exercise, the Opposition bloc is stepping up their attack on the EC with sources saying I.N.D.I.A MPs will hold a protest at Makar Dwar of the Parliament House on Monday at 10:30 am, before the Lok Sabha starts the debate on Operation Sindoor.

At a joint press conference of RJD, Congress, CPI(ML)L and CPI(M), the leaders launched an attack on the EC claiming that the whole process was squeezed into one month and because of that, the exercise is flawed.

The leaders alleged that the EC was entering into the domain of citizenship verification when it is not its mandate.

Responding to the allegations, EC sources said the poll body is not able to understand why some are creating a “big fuss” when there is a one-month window to point out wrongful inclusion or exclusion. Sources also asked why some are trying to give an impression that the draft list is the final one.

CPI(ML)L General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said, “What I see is a huge gap in numbers in just six months. Does this mean that in just six months, around 22 lakh people have passed away? So, does this mean the ECI’s summary revision was a flop?”

Claiming that a large number of people would be excluded from the rolls after the document verification begins, he said the SIR is “clearly linked” to the upcoming election when the people of Bihar are ready for a change.

“The poor and marginalised sections of Bihar have fought long for their voting rights and now they will also fight against this ‘vote-bandi’. In August, Bihar will move into an intensified struggle mode against this exclusionary and disenfranchisement process,” he said.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said all the recent communication of the EC and refusal to accept Aadhaar, EPIC, and Ration Card as valid documents clearly point towards the fact that the entire SIR process is a citizenship verification process.

RJD's Manoj K Jha said the EC did not discuss the SIR exercise with parties and built a consensus. "We have not seen such a large attempt of disenfranchisement in the history of independent India. Opacity has become the hallmark of this EC," the senior MP said.

Senior CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Nilotpal Basu asked the EC to provide the details of the independent assessment it said it conducted before deciding on the SIR. The EC had in an affidavit to the SC said that it had conducted an independent assessment, which prompted the exercise.