<p class="bodytext">The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being undertaken in nine states and three union territories has created distress and chaos, and put immense pressure on ground level officials. The short deadlines and the workload have driven some booth level officers (BLOs) to suicide. Many others are facing physical and mental breakdown. These instances have been reported from everywhere. The BLOs are being pushed to the brink by their seniors, and their work is under close scrutiny by political parties and others. After the matter was raised in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the SIR schedule by a week, but that may not be enough to ease the tensions, and make it a normal exercise that does not punish the officials, and does justice to the people. The Supreme Court has now recommended further extension of the schedule in Kerala, where there is double pressure on officials and others because of the ongoing local body election process. It termed the state government’s request for extension as ‘just and fair’.</p>.SIR affects vulnerable communities the most, and Election Commission is doing precious little.<p class="bodytext">The SIR, first held in Bihar before the elections there, was a hurried and badly done job. The nationwide exercise, which was rolled out a month ago, has also seen the same problems, and in addition, the immense pressure on the BLOs, which, for some reason, was not reported on such a scale. The exercise covers over 50 crore people, and it was clear from the outset that three months are not enough to complete the process, which includes the distribution of enumeration forms, publication of draft rolls, and the release of the final voter lists. The last such revision held in 2003-2004 had taken about two years to conclude, and there were no serious complaints about the deadlines, methods, and intent of the ECI. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The ECI has denied any inconvenience or difficulties in the conduct of the SIR and has said all complaints about it are politically motivated. Political parties, which have made the complaints, have charged that the exercise itself is politically motivated. The ECI has cited the example of Bihar, where it says the exercise was done well. But the widely held view is that it was done badly in Bihar. Many genuine voters were allegedly excluded. One stated aim was the identification of foreign nationals on the voters’ list. But not many Bangladeshis were found, and most foreigners on the list were Nepalis. Cleansing of electoral rolls is essential for free and fair elections, but it should not be done in a shoddy manner. The ECI has lost much of its credibility, and it will do more damage to itself if it persists with the arbitrary and uncaring way the exercise is being undertaken.</p>
<p class="bodytext">The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being undertaken in nine states and three union territories has created distress and chaos, and put immense pressure on ground level officials. The short deadlines and the workload have driven some booth level officers (BLOs) to suicide. Many others are facing physical and mental breakdown. These instances have been reported from everywhere. The BLOs are being pushed to the brink by their seniors, and their work is under close scrutiny by political parties and others. After the matter was raised in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the SIR schedule by a week, but that may not be enough to ease the tensions, and make it a normal exercise that does not punish the officials, and does justice to the people. The Supreme Court has now recommended further extension of the schedule in Kerala, where there is double pressure on officials and others because of the ongoing local body election process. It termed the state government’s request for extension as ‘just and fair’.</p>.SIR affects vulnerable communities the most, and Election Commission is doing precious little.<p class="bodytext">The SIR, first held in Bihar before the elections there, was a hurried and badly done job. The nationwide exercise, which was rolled out a month ago, has also seen the same problems, and in addition, the immense pressure on the BLOs, which, for some reason, was not reported on such a scale. The exercise covers over 50 crore people, and it was clear from the outset that three months are not enough to complete the process, which includes the distribution of enumeration forms, publication of draft rolls, and the release of the final voter lists. The last such revision held in 2003-2004 had taken about two years to conclude, and there were no serious complaints about the deadlines, methods, and intent of the ECI. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The ECI has denied any inconvenience or difficulties in the conduct of the SIR and has said all complaints about it are politically motivated. Political parties, which have made the complaints, have charged that the exercise itself is politically motivated. The ECI has cited the example of Bihar, where it says the exercise was done well. But the widely held view is that it was done badly in Bihar. Many genuine voters were allegedly excluded. One stated aim was the identification of foreign nationals on the voters’ list. But not many Bangladeshis were found, and most foreigners on the list were Nepalis. Cleansing of electoral rolls is essential for free and fair elections, but it should not be done in a shoddy manner. The ECI has lost much of its credibility, and it will do more damage to itself if it persists with the arbitrary and uncaring way the exercise is being undertaken.</p>
