Latest news with #OPRawat
India Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Poll panel's clarifications on SIR, ‘vote fraud' not adequate: Ex-CEC OP Rawat
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat talks about the Election Commission's recent press conference on allegations of voter fraud and SIR in Bihar. Rawat states that the EC's clarifications were "not really adequate enough to defuse the situation." He suggests the commission lost the initiative by not immediately investigating claims from all political parties. The former CEC also questions the EC's explanation for 'house number zero' on electoral rolls, stating it is not a national norm and he does not recall it happening in the past. Further, he dismisses privacy as a concern for withholding CCTV footage from polling stations and notes the lack of data provided on alleged foreign illegal immigrants in Bihar's electoral rolls, a point the EC had initially raised.
News18
a day ago
- Politics
- News18
EC works in ‘impartial' way: Ex-poll body chief Rawat
Indore, Aug 18 (PTI) Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O P Rawat has called the Election Commission 'impartial" and welcomed its press conference to clear the air over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Declining to comment on the controversy over Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations of 'vote theft", Rawat said he had not heard the commission's response during the press conference on Sunday. In his first press conference after Gandhi levelled allegations of 'vote chori" in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and several opposition leaders flagged issues about SIR in Bihar, CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday asked the Congress MP to either apologise or back his claims with a signed affidavit as required under electoral rules. Rawat stressed the poll panel functions in an 'impartial" way. 'The Election Commission's press conference should be welcomed because it is a good step to clear public doubts regarding the SIR process (in Bihar) and other issues," Rawat told PTI in Indore. To another question, he said the final electoral rolls are already made public, so the demand to release them again is not unreasonable. 'Getting one's name enrolled in the electoral roll strengthens democracy. Privacy is not an issue here. It arises only when personal details of voters are shared with individuals having vested interests," he noted. Asked about allegations of bogus voting, Rawat said the possibility of a person voting more than once in an election is 'negligible" because of strict verification of documents at polling stations and the application of indelible ink on an elector's finger before casting vote. PTI HWP LAL NR GK view comments First Published: August 18, 2025, 08:15 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.
Mint
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Ex-CEC OP Rawat flags time constraints in Bihar voter list revision - ‘no need for this kind of exercise in this manner'
Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat said on Thursday that the only constraint with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list underway in poll-bound Bihar is time. Rawat also raised questions about how the Election Commission of India is conducting the exercise. "The only constraint with Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is time. They (Election Commission) will not have adequate time for appeal and disposal because the Bihar elections have to be completed before 22 November," Rawat said speaking during a webinar – 'Special Intensive Revision of the Electoral Rolls: Enhancing the purity of electoral rolls or disenfranchising the electorate?' – organised by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms(ADR). 'The exercise will be completed before September end, so there is panic. That is the real cause of concern,' Rawat said. The Election Commission's SIR of electoral rolls has triggered a political storm, with the opposition Congress dubbing it 'a rigging attempt' orchestrated by the poll panel under instructions from the ruling regime. Since the start of this year's monsoon session, the opposition has been protesting in the Parliament, demanding a discussion over the Bihar SIR. At least half a dozen petitions by political parties, individuals and civil society groups, including the ADR, have been filed in the Supreme Court against what they call a 'blatantly unconstitutional' exercise. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to file its response by 9 August on a fresh application of an NGO seeking disclosure of data of 65 lakh voters who were not included in the Bihar draft electoral roll after the SIR drive. Earlier in the day on 7 August, the Election Commission said that not even a single claim or objection has been submitted by any political party regarding the draft electoral rolls in Bihar. The Election Commission has asserted that no eligible elector will be left out and no ineligible elector will be included in the final electoral roll of Bihar. It has appealed to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors in the draft electoral Roll of Bihar, which was published on August 1. 'Secondly, the issue of empowerment of the Election Commission. It is mandated and so they are empowered. However, for investigating citizenship, there has been the 1995 Supreme Court ruling when they rasied a finger on this and said citizenship is a subject of the Home Ministry and it is empowered to investigate and decide citizenship,' Rawat said. The poll panel has, during the SC hearing, defended its authority to seek proof of citizenship during the revision of voter list. Rawat, who was CEC from 23 January 2018 to 1 December 2018, also asked if the way the SIR is being conducted is the right way. "I do not think so because if illegal or dead voters are there, EC has been undertaking this exercise. They have the paraphernalia in their armour such as ERONET, any name which is duplicate anywhere in the country, it will appear on screen and you can easily identify such duplicate entries. There was no need for this kind of exercise in this manner to remove permanently shifted voters, dead voters etc, he said. The Election Commission has maintained that no name can be deleted from the draft list published on 1 August, without passing a speaking order by the ERO/AERO after conducting an enquiry and after giving a fair and reasonable opportunity. The only constraint with Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is time.
New Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Special rolls revision could've begun earlier : OP Rawat
Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat says that though the Election Commission of India (ECI) is legally empowered to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls, its timing appears impractical, as the gap between the schedule publication of final electoral rolls and conduct of assembly elections is too narrow--of barely two months--which will be insufficient for the aggrieved to go in for appeal. In a freewheeling conversation with Mukesh Ranjan, he feels that the controversies following the Maharashtra assembly elections might have weighed on the Commission's mind, and it wished to avoid a similar situation after the Bihar polls. Excerpts: Why is the ECI conducting the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar? The Constitution and election laws permit and empower it to revise electoral rolls, either summarily or intensively, before every election to update the voters' list. Usually, it is done once in five years in sync with elections to the Lok Sabha or state assemblies. This ensures that the names of those who are deceased or have migrated are removed, and those who have reached 18 years of age and have come to reside are included. The exercise makes the electoral rolls inclusive just before the elections, ensuring that nobody is left out.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Limited appeal window may hit voter rights, say former CECs on SIR timeline
New Delhi: More concerns have come up over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, particularly about the possibility of a large number of names figuring in the draft electoral rolls but missing in the final one, leaving a very short redressal window for the affected people, just ahead of the state election. Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat, who has so far backed EC's prerogative to hold suan intensive revision, termed the EC decisions as 'not well founded' and expressed concerns over the possibility of things turning 'chaotic' just ahead of the assembly polls. "The process which the EC is now suggesting, as per the advertisements issued by the Bihar CEO and EC's clarificatory statements, appears that the draft electoral roll published on August 1 may include the names of all electors, some on the basis of the enumeration form alone with documents following later. This is certainly not a well-founded move," Rawat told ET. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo "This means that the final electoral roll in September could have considerable deletion of names in case required documents don't come later. If so, the aggrieved elector would hardly have enough time for his appeal. This could prove chaotic given that the assembly election must be conducted before November end," he added. The issue has many former CECs and Election Commissioners concerned. Live Events "This practically means that several names in the draft electoral rolls may face the axe later. Given that in the EC's experience most people are quite assured after their names emerge in draft rolls, this will be nearly completely illegal, dangerous and can throw the whole electoral roll and election into disarray," another former CEC told ET. Still others pointed out that the presumption that names can be deleted quickly just ahead of the polls also doesn't pass legal muster as it could deny voting rights to many without allowing adequate time for appeal/evidence. "The process for deletion and appeal is complex and involves multiple steps from issuing a show cause notice to such an elector, allowing him more than enough opportunity to contest it. This itself is known to take nearly six months in several cases. After that also, the elector has the right to go to appeal, a process known to easily take 4-6 months. So, anyone whose name is deleted and wants to contest it would not be able to do so in the October-November Bihar election. Several people work in other states and may not even get the EC notice. That is certainly not only undesirable but also against the spirit of EC's enrolment approach," the ex CEC added. Many agree that the EC's intention to purify electoral rolls is most welcome but an intensive revision requires longer gap with polls. After all, the last intensive revision in Bihar, which the EC has now cited, was conducted in 2003 when the election was to be held only two years later (in 2005). That allowed considerable window to electors to produce documents or proofs required. "Nearly 2.3 cr voters, who were not on the 2003 rolls, are required to produce documents and that too at such a tight deadline and in a state known to have very high migrant population. This is not the duty of the citizen and stated so in many court observations and orders," the ex-CEC added.
