New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) The Election Commission should not show “institutional arrogance”, and must stop the Special Intensive Revision exercise currently underway in Bihar, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Sunday.
At a joint press conference held here along with CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, RJD MP Manoj Jha and CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu, Singhvi said that the exercise being undertaken by the Election Commission has become a “citizenship test” and questioned its legality.
He urged the poll panel to roll back its decision to hold the Special Intensive Revision before Bihar assembly polls.
“I humbly request the Election Commission, this is not a matter of political obstinacy. It is not a matter of institutional arrogance. Please reconsider it. Everyone is urging you,” he said.
Singhvi questioned the need to hurry with the exercise ahead of polls, and asked if it was a citizenship test.
“Various statements issued by the Election Commission indicate that this is a citizenship exercise,” he said, adding, “The poll commission has said in repeated statements why Aadhaar, election photo identity cards or ration cards are not being accepted. This means they want evidence of citizenship. The question is, does the Election Commission have the right to examine citizenship?” “The court will look into the different aspects of this exercise. But if the Election Commission does not have institutional arrogance or political obstinacy, it can easily stop this now and conduct it after the election. There is absolutely no reason to link it with a particular election in two months,” Singhvi said.
He said that citizenship verification and revocation are extensive processes for which there are relevant authorities, including the Foreigners Tribunals.
“It has to be presumed that people are citizens, and any process of revocation must go through proper verification, not one that is rushed,” he said.
CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the poll body’s “self-congratulatory” claims corroborate their apprehensions.
“They are making all kinds of self-congratulatory and misleading claims. We heard that names of over 65 lakh voters will be removed. Election Commission’s claim is basically corroborating our apprehension,” he said.
He said the process lacked transparency.
“From the beginning, the Election Commission has been making false claims regarding the whole Special Intensive Revision process. They had said that they have shared the data of those included at the booth level. But this data does not specifically identify all those who are claimed dead or untraceable, or those with multiple registrations. How does the commission expect us to decode this much data in such a short span of time?” Bhattacharya asked.
Pointing out that a summary revision was done this January, he also questioned the poll body’s claims about the 22 lakh death figure.
Bhattacharya alleged that while the Election Commission is claiming to have done an extensive door-to-door survey, the reality on the ground is that people are running helter-skelter to find the Booth-Level Officers.
He said the data given by the commission is impossible to digest. “The Election Commission is yet to manufacture a ‘Hajmola’ that can digest this ‘votebandi’ of the poor in Bihar,” the Left leader said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj Jha, who pointed out that political parties were not consulted on the process, called it the biggest exercise of disenfranchisement since Independence.
“I hope the Supreme Court will look at this seriously. There has not been another attempt of disenfranchisement at this scale in Independent India,” Jha said.
CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu called it an exercise to disenfranchise the poor.
“We have an inclusive democracy. The idea is to make the election process as universal as possible. This exercise is against the basic idea of democracy,” he said.
Bhattacharya added that when the document verification begins and the draft roll is published, a large number of people will be excluded.
“The Special Intensive Revision process is clearly linked to the upcoming election, when the people of Bihar are ready for a change,” he said.
“In August, Bihar will move into an intensified struggle mode against this exclusionary and disenfranchisement process,” he added.
The Election Commission on Sunday said that enumeration forms from 7.24 crore, or 91.69 per cent, voters have been received during the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar. They said 22 lakh people have died, 36 lakh people have either permanently shifted or not found, and seven lakh Bihar voters were found to have enrolled at multiple places. PTI AO RUK RUK
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