RJD MP Manoj Jha moves Supreme Court against Election Commission's nationwide voter list revision
RJD MP
Dr
Manoj Jha
approached the
Supreme Court
on Sunday to challenge the
Election Commission of India
's decision to start a
Special Intensive Revision
(SIR) of electoral rolls across the country, reported LiveLaw.
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The Hindu
44 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Chief Election Commissioner defends SIR in Bihar, ECI says no change in instructions
Defending the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls under way in Bihar, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday (July 7, 2025) said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had held extensive consultations with all political parties and 'no one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or other'. The ECI too clarified that the SIR was being conducted as per its June 24 order announcing the exercise and there was 'no change in the instructions'. The clarification was issued following front-page advertisements in newspapers in Patna by the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), stating people can submit their filled enumeration forms now and provide the documents later. Issued in Hindi, the advertisement said, 'If you do not have requisite documents, then provide the enumeration forms to the Booth Level Officers.' This prompted statements from Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, that the ECI had backtracked under pressure from them. Mr. Kharge had posted on X: 'When people rise, BJP backtracks'. He further claimed that 'the master plan that the BJP had devised to deprive crores of people in Bihar of their voting rights seems to be ensnaring the BJP itself'. He also credited 'pressure from the Opposition, the public and civil society' for the ECI issuing the advertisement, which he said stated that 'only the form needs to be filled and documents were not necessary'. 'This is part of the BJP's tactic to mislead and confuse the public. The truth is that the BJP has decided it will crush democracy at all costs. But when faced with public opposition, it cleverly takes a step back,' Mr. Kharge said. However, CEO Vinod Singh Gunjiyal clarified, 'SIR in Bihar is progressing as per EC's order dated 24 June 2025... All measures are being taken to facilitate the existing electors to complete the documentation. These existing voters will have time to submit the documents even after first submitting their Enumeration Forms. All activities are exactly as per EC's order dated 24.06.2025.' Further clarification was also issued stating there was 'no change in the instructions'. The panel said while the voters were required to 'submit their documents anytime before July 25', those who failed to do so would get an opportunity 'during the claims and objections period also'. The ECI in its statement further cautioned voters against statements being made by few persons 'who without reading the SIR order dated 24 June' were orchestrating and attempting to confuse the public with their 'incorrect and misleading' statements. Mr. Kumar too issued a short statement without naming any political party. 'During the past four months, all 4,123 EROs [Electoral Registration Officers], all 775 DEOs [District Election Officers] and all 36 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives. The EC has also invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other'. Meanwhile, the Opposition parties continued to point out various infirmities with the process. Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya pointed out that 'only 14% filled forms have been returned after 10 days, and the EC knows that a huge number of voters will be eliminated at the draft stage itself'. Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Rajya Sabha member Manoj K. Jha told The Hindu that the ECI had only tried to make its own work easier by asking voters to fill the enumeration form even if they don't have the documents. 'This is an admission that the documents they are asking for are not easily available with the majority of the population. They are on the back foot. And this does not address the real problem,' Mr. Jha said. On Friday (July 4, 2025), a delegation of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders headed by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met Mr. Gunjiyal to raise their objections to the SIR. They demanded that Aadhaar card, ration card and MGNREGA card be added to the list of admissible documents under SIR. As per data, till 7 p.m. on Saturday (July 5, 2025), 1,12,01,674 enumeration forms have been collected in Bihar, which is 14.18% of the total number of potential voters. In addition, the total number of counting forms uploaded was 23,90,329, of which 23,14,602 forms were uploaded through BLOs, while 75,789 forms were uploaded by general voters through online mode.
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
Initial phase of Bihar SIR completed, says ECI
New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar is being implemented smoothly at the ground level with the active cooperation of the electors, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Sunday. 'The initial phase of SIR, during which Enumeration forms were to be printed and distributed, is almost complete with the forms having been made available to all the electors who were available,' read a statement from the poll panel. ECI also reiterated that SIR is being conducted as per the SIR instructions dated June 24, 2025 and there is no change in the instructions. As per instructions, draft electoral rolls that will be issued on 1 August 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms are received. 'The electors can submit their documents any time before July 25, 2025. After publication of draft Electoral Rolls, if any document is deficient, EROs can obtain such documents, from the electors whose name appears in the draft Electoral Rolls, during scrutiny in the Claims and Objection period,' read the statement. Notably, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar underlined the importance of carrying out a revision of the electoral rolls, saying that the poll panel has constantly held meetings with thousands of representatives of political parties, who had expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the electoral rolls. 'During the past 4 months, all 4,123 EROs, all 775 DEOs and all 36 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives. ECI has also invited all Recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other,' the CEC said. As of Sunday, 1,69,49,208 Enumeration Forms, that is 21.46 per cent of the total of 7,89,69,844 (nearly 7.90 crore) electors in Bihar who are enrolled as on June 24, 2025, have been received, according to EC. In the last 24 hours, that is till six PM on Saturday, 65,32,663 Enumeration Forms have been collected. There are still 19 days to go for the last date for submission of forms. The uploading of forms has also started simultaneously in full swing with 7.25 percentage of the forms already uploaded so far. The partially filled forms are also available for download on the ECI portal ( as well on ECINET App and the filled forms can be uploaded by the elector himself on ECINET App. 77,895 BLOs are going house-to-house to help the electors fill out their Enumeration Forms and collect them. In a large number of cases, the BLOs are taking live pictures of the electors and uploading them, saving the elector the trouble of getting their pictures clicked. Additionally, 20,603 BLOs are being appointed for the smooth and timely completion of the process. Nearly 4 lakh volunteers which includes government officials, NCC cadets, NSS members etc. are also working on the field to facilitate the elderly, PwDs, sick and vulnerable populations in the SIR process. Besides, 239 EROs covering all the 243 ACs, 963 AEROs, 38 DEOs and the CEO of the state are at the ground level to facilitate the electors to submit their forms. 1,54,977 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by various political parties are also providing active support in the SIR process. (ANI)
India Gazette
2 hours ago
- India Gazette
Bihar Assembly Elections: TMC, RJD move to Supreme Court against Eelection Commission's voter list revision
Nadia (West Bengal) [India], July 6 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday expressed reservations over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar, saying that her party has moved to Supreme Court against the voter list revision. 'We are against this (SIR) and filed a case in the Supreme Court,' Moitra told ANI. She said that the situation would be such that citizens would have to prove their citizenship repeatedly due to these rules, asserting that the next target would be Bengal. 'The main goal of the Election Commission's new amendment rules brought ahead of the Bihar assembly elections is the 2026 Bengal assembly elections... The citizens of India will have to prove their citizenship once again through the rules in this election,' the TMC MP said. She also flagged the issue that the names of migrant workers would be deleted from the voter list if they failed to submit the correct documents within the prescribed time, which would lead to their disenfranchisement. 'Aadhaar card is not acceptable. Not only the person's birth certificate but also the birth certificates of their mother and father will have to be submitted. Additionally, suppose migrant workers are unable to come and submit the correct documents to the voter list within two to three months. In that case, their names will be removed from the voter list, and they will not be given the opportunity for a final hearing. They will have to apply again and get their names included in the voter list,' Moitra said. Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha has also moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission of India's exercise to revise the voter list across Bihar. The SIR in Bihar is being implemented smoothly at the ground level with the active cooperation of the electors, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Sunday. 'The initial phase of SIR, during which Enumeration forms were to be printed and distributed, is almost complete, with the forms having been made available to all the electors who were available,' read a statement from the poll panel. ECI also reiterated that SIR is being conducted as per the SIR instructions dated June 24, 2025, and there is no change in the instructions. As per instructions, draft electoral rolls that will be issued on 1 August 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms have been received. (ANI)
