Mass disenfranchisement is serious issue: Chidambaram slams ECI over Bihar SIR row
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Criticising the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday questioned as to how poll body come to the conclusion that several lakh voters in Bihar have "permanently migrated" resulting in "deletion" of their names from voters list.In a post on X, Chidambaram said that mass disenfranchisement is a serious issue and questioned whether any inquiry was done by the ECI to ascertain the "permanently migrated" status of enrolled voters in Bihar."How did the ECI come to the conclusion that several lakh persons, whose names are in the current electoral rolls of Bihar, must be excluded because they had "permanently migrated" out of the state? That is the question Before you reach the conclusion that a person has "permanently migrated" out of a State, should not a thorough enquiry be conducted into each case?"How could such an enquiry involving 37 lakh persons have been conducted in a period of 30 days? Mass disenfranchisement is a serious issue, and that is why the Supreme Court is hearing the petitions," he added.Earlier in the day, the Senior Congress leader had criticised the ECI over the 'reports' of the addition of approximately 6.5 lakh migrant workers to Tamil Nadu's electoral rolls and called it "alarming" and "patently illegal."In a post on X, Chidambaram wrote," The SIR exercise is getting curiouser and curiouser While 65 lakh voters are in danger of being disenfranchised in Bihar, reports of "adding" 6.5 lakh persons as voters in Tamil Nadu is alarming and patently illegal Calling them "permanently migrated" is an insult to the migrant workers and a gross interference in the right of the electorate of Tamil Nadu to elect a government of its choice Why should the migrant worker not return to Bihar (or his/her home state) to vote in the State Assembly election, as they usually do? Does not the migrant worker return to Bihar at the time of the Chhath puja festival? A person to be enrolled as a voter must have a fixed and permanent legal home."Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday said that not a single claim or objection has been filed by any political party with respect to draft rolls."From August 1 to August 3, 3:00 PM, all political parties put together, have filed zero claims and objections for the addition of the names of eligible electors and deletion of the names of ineligible election," said the poll panel.
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