Political parties in Kerala express concern over hasty SIR move, NRIs join chorus

Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM and the opposition Congress in Kerala as well as the large NRI population of the state have expressed their concerns over the Special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls to be carried out from November 4.

While the political parties are alleging that the SIR is being initiated in a hasty manner at the behest of the ruling BJP at the centre to sabotage a fair election process, the NRI community is expressing fears that many of them could get eliminated from the electoral roles owing to their absence in the state during the SIR process.

Indian Overseas Congress middle east convener Mansoor Palloor said that many NRIs living abroad for employment, education or family reasons may not be present at their registered addresses in India when local booth level officers visit for verification. Many NRIs may miss notices and fail to respond in time. It could lead to elimination of such persons from the list.

Scores of NRIs are settled abroad with entire family members and their houses in Kerala are remaining closed.

Even as the election commission authorities maintain that NRIs could submit documents for SIR online, Palloor said that NRIs were having concerns over the ambiguity about what documents.

"Notices, forms and verification messages often rely on postal delivery or in-person visits. NRIs, by their very nature, depend on electronic and online communication, which currently lacks a reliable and standardised mechanism under SIR. The absence of remote or digital verification protocols leaves overseas citizens effectively excluded from the process. NRIs are already outside the day-to-day administrative system of the state and hence are less empowered and informed about redressal or appeal mechanisms if their names are omitted," Pallor told DH.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that the decision to carry out the SIR based on the 2002 electoral roll was against the norms. He also said that the election commission was showing undue haste in carrying out SIR in Kerala even as the local body polls in the state are approaching and the SC is reviewing the Bihar SIR. This could be due to vested interests. "Kerala firmly opposes this attempt to undermine democracy and calls for united resistance to defend it," he said.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress alleged that the election commission was colluding with BJP's agenda of sabotaging a fair election process. People who have been casting votes since 2002 were now facing the threat of being eliminated from the electoral roll, he said.

Kerala chief electoral officer Rathan U. Kelkar will be holding a meeting with political party representatives on Wednesday to discuss SIR in the state.