The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the “Special Intensive Revision” of electoral rolls in Bihar, questioning the methodology and timing of the exercise.
In a letter to the ECI, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Nilotpal Basu Friday raised concerns about the potential disenfranchisement of genuine voters. “The ECI should have taken at least the recognised political parties into confidence and elicited their views before undertaking such an exercise,” he said, asserting: “Holding such an extensive exercise just a few months before the state goes to polls will vitiate the atmosphere and is fraught with dangers.”
“The onus of validating one’s own legitimate claim as a voter at a given place cannot be imposed upon any ordinary voter…..This entire exercise is similar to the proposed NRC. There are fears that it may be used to target a certain section of voters leading to their disenfranchisement,” he said.
Basu, in his letter, also said that insistence on proof of residence and parents’ documents may cause unnecessary harassment of voters while the exercise may also result in the deletion of names of genuine voters who have temporarily migrated and are not currently available in the state.
Claining that most Opposition political parties that have attended the meeting convened by the Bihar CEO in this connection have a similar opinion, Basu urged the ECI to discontinue the exercise.