Facing severe criticism and protests from the Opposition’s INDIA bloc against its Special Intensive Exercise (SIR) in Bihar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday strongly defended its actions, asserting that preparing an authentic and transparent voter list is “the foundation stone for fair elections and a strong democracy”.
In a statement shared by a news agency, the poll panel asked the critics if it should allow some people to cast fake votes.
“Should the Election Commission, getting misled by some people, pave the way for some to cast fake votes in the name of deceased voters, voters who have migrated permanently, voters who have got their votes registered at two places, fake voters or foreign voters, going against the Constitution, first in Bihar, then in the entire country?” the ECI asked.
“Isn’t the authentic voter list being prepared by the Election Commission through a transparent process, the foundation stone for fair elections and a strong democracy?” it asked further.
The ECI called on the citizens of India to think about the above questions beyond political ideologies, adding, “Perhaps the most appropriate time for this essential thinking for all of you has now arrived in India.”
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi today joined the Opposition MPs as they intensified their protest against the Election Commission of India’s controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Ms Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and several other MPs of the INDIA bloc gathered at Parliament’s Makar Dwar and demanded the rollback of the SIR exercise.
Holding a banner that said ‘SIR- loktantra par vaar’ (SIR- An attack on democracy), the MPs raised slogans against the exercise.
Speaking about the SIR exercise, which seeks to overhaul the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan said, “If the voter doesn’t have the right to vote, it is a murder of democracy. Then, what will democracy even mean?”
Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who was also part of the protest, accused the Election Commission of turning into a BJP party office.
“Election Commission is working only to form the BJP government. It is no longer the Election Commission, but it has become the BJP’s party office,” he remarked.