Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls should be cancelled, says economist Jean Dreze
Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Samar Charitable Trust, Swaraj Abhiyan and Kosi Navnirman Manch jointly organised the Jan Sunwai at the premises of Bihar Industries Association (BIA), Patna.
The panel comprised Anjana Prakash (former judge, Patna High Court), Wajahat Habibullah (former Chief Information Commissioner), economist Jean Drèze, professor Nandini Sundar (Sociologist, Delhi School of Economics), Dr. D. M. Diwakar (former Director, A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna) and Bhanwar Meghwanshi (founder, Forward Press.
People from 14 districts participated in the programme, and they shared their experiences along with problems with the panel. May voters who were not literate had to pay someone around ₹100 to fill up per form.
Kanchan Devi of Katihar district said that she has to pay Rs 100 to get her form filled. Rukma Devi from the same district had similar complaint.
Ram Chandra Prasad, a resident of Nalanda district, said that he will challenge the process in the court of law because he did not get the acknowledgement receipt after submitting the form to Booth Level officer (BLO).
Phool Kumari Devi, a labourer from Katihar district, said that BLO asked her to get a photocopy of Aadhar and Voter card which she had lot of trouble.
'I travelled 4 km to get the passport photo. I had no money; I sold the rice I had got from ration. I did not work for two days to gather all the documents. I had no rice and went hungry for two days,' Ms. Devi said.
In multiple instances, voters discovered that their forms had already been submitted by the BLO. Even their signatures on the forms were not taken.
A resident of Patna, Nirmal Kumar, alleged that his close ones received threats from the district administration when they raised the voice that their forms were already filled and submitted online.
Many shared their experience that enumeration forms were distributed not by BLOs, but by Ward Parshad, Anganwadi Workers and Kuda Wala. So, many voters received no instructions on how to fill out the form. In many households, a few members got the form and others did not.
People from the Kosi region said that their document have been washed away due multiple floods in their region.
After listening to the participants, Mr. Dreze said that the purpose of the SIR is not clear even after reading the 20-page notification of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
'The purpose is not clear, but the result is clear, in which people would not be able to exercise their franchise. As per the survey of Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, 37% people do not have the documents required by the Commission. You all can understand which community, class and supporters of the political parties would be removed from the voter list,' Mr. Dreze said.
He further said that SIR is not practical and impossible so it should not be modified but cancelled.
'The SIR should not be modified but cancelled. There have been multiple violations of the ECI's processes while completing targets under unreasonable pressure. This will worsen the quality of the voters' list and defeat the stated purpose of the ECI,' Mr. Dreze said.
Ms. Prakash said that the documents that the ECI is asking are impossible to submit for many rural Biharis.
Mr. Habibullah emphasised that the work of ECI is to encourage the people to vote and create a situation that can ease the voters but through SIR, it seems that the poll body is creating problem for the voters and making their path difficult.
On the other hand, Mr. Meghwansi said that the SIR process is a threat to the Preamble of the Constitution and political equality.
Professor Diwakar pointed out that today the democracy is neither of the people, nor for the people, nor by the people and everyone have to make efforts to get it back.
Expressing apprehension, Ms. Sunder said that the SIR is very dangerous for democracy, and she hoped that the people's voice would be heard.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
25 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Lok Sabha sees Question Hour proceed smoothly after 6 days of disruption
The House has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the Opposition's demand for a debate on electoral roll revision in Bihar and Operation Sindoor Press Trust of India New Delhi Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed smooth functioning of the Question Hour for the first time since the beginning of the Monsoon session on July 21. The House has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the Opposition's demand for a debate on electoral roll revision in Bihar and Operation Sindoor. While the debate on Operation Sindoor commenced in the House on Monday, the Opposition disrupted the first half of the day demanding an assurance from the government that a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar will be held after that. Speaker Om Birla has been insisting that members should participate in the Question Hour as issues related to key ministries are taken up and the government is held accountable. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
News18
33 minutes ago
- News18
We will step in if theres mass exclusion in SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar: SC
Last Updated: New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Election Commission (EC) is a constitutional authority and it is deemed to act in accordance with law, but if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the court will step in. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar, and said that hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 and 13. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners, once again alleged that people are being left out from the draft list to be published on August 1 by the poll panel, and they will lose their crucial right of voting. Bhushan said the EC has issued a statement that 65 lakh persons have not submitted the enumeration forms during the SIR process as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere. He submitted that these people will have to apply afresh for inclusion in the list. Justice Surya Kant said, 'The Election Commission of India, being a Constitutional authority, is deemed to act in accordance with the law. If any wrong doing is done, you bring to the notice of the court. We will hear you." Justice Bagchi told Bhushan, 'Your apprehension is that 65 lakh-odd voters will not feature in the draft list. Now ECI is seeking correction in the electoral roll. We are overviewing the process as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in. You bring 15 people whom they say are dead and are alive." Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Jha, said the Election Commission knows who these 65 lakh people are and if they mention their names in the draft list, no one will have a problem. 'If the draft list is conspicuously silent, you will bring to our notice," Justice Kant said. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, said that even after the draft list publication, enumeration forms can be filed. The bench asked the petitioners and the poll panel to file their written submissions by August 8. It appointed nodal officers from petitioners side and the Election Commission side for filing written submissions/compilations. On Monday, underscoring the 'presumption of genuineness" of Aadhaar and voter ID, the top court refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, and said it would once and for all decide pleas against the Election Commission's SIR of electoral rolls. It asked the poll panel to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter ID for the SIR exercise in Bihar in compliance with its order, saying both documents had a 'presumption of genuineness". Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had submitted that the electoral rolls should not be finalised in the interim, pressing for an interim stay on the publication of the draft rolls on August 1. The apex court, however, referred to the top court's previous order noting the petitioners did not press for an interim relief, which couldn't be allowed now, and said the matter would be interpreted once and for all. On July 10, a bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards as valid documents as it allowed the poll panel to continue with its exercise in Bihar. The top court on Monday said the Election Commission suggested that the list of 11 documents for SIR was not inclusive but exhaustive, and they were using both Aadhaar and voter IDs for the purpose of identification. Dwivedi said Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship and the voter card was not relied upon as it was a revision exercise or else there was no use of such an exercise. Justice Kant had then remarked, 'Any document on earth can be forged. The Election Commission can deal with cases of forgery on a case to case basis. Instead of en masse exclusion it must be en masse inclusion." Dwivedi said the poll panel was accepting both Aadhaar and voter IDs but with certain supporting documents. The EC affidavit has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by 'weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls. PTI MNL MNL MNK MNK view comments First Published: July 29, 2025, 13:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
SC to hear pleas challenging Bihar electoral roll revision on August 12, 13; says ‘will step in if there is mass exclusion'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on August 12 and 13 pleas related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list being carried out by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar and sought to assure petitioners who challenged the process that 'if there is mass exclusion, we will step in'. Hearing the matter on Monday, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while refusing to stop the ECI from publishing the draft revised list, had asked the parties to inform it on Tuesday how much time they will take to make their submissions so that the court can fix a date. As the court took up the matter on Tuesday, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, submitted that the draft has been advertised and given to political parties. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, said those who have been left out must have a chance to submit objections. 'They will have the right. Who said they won't?' Justice Kant said, adding, 'The moment they deviate from the notification, we will interfere.' To this, Sibal said, 'We don't know who has been left,' and asked if the ECI had given the names of those excluded. Dwivedi replied, 'It won't be given to you. Take from the website.' Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), submitted that according to the ECI, 65 lakh people have not submitted the enumeration forms as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere. Contending that those excluded will have to apply afresh, he wondered how they will come to know whether they are in the draft. Justice Kant said that the ECI is a constitutional body and 'we would deem their action will be in accordance with the law.' He assured that the court is there to take care of any concern. 'We are here, we will hear you,' he stated. Justice Bagchi said, 'January 2025 list is the starting point if there was no SIR. Draft list will be published by ECI. Your apprehension is 65 lakh-odd voters will not feature… They (ECI) are seeking correction vis-a-vis 2025 entry. We are overviewing the thing as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will step in. Bring 15 people saying they are alive but left out.' The ECI counsel, however, said there is a 30-day window for filing objections and that the petitioners should help with adding names. Justice Kant stated that political parties should operate like NGOs during the process. Sibal said the petitioners will have no problem if the ECI mentions who were excluded. Justice Kant then said, 'If the draft list is conspicuously silent, you will bring (it) to our attention.' Dwivedi said the final number would be made public only after the objections are considered. 'Once objections are considered, a real picture would come as to who has been excluded. At least by September 15, we are expecting (the final list),' he added.
