National News: The Election Commission has started the process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists across the country. While addressing a press conference in Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that the second phase of this campaign will now run in twelve states. He called it a big step towards transparency and democratic strengthening. This process has already been completed in Bihar and the final list has been published there. The Commission believes that a clean voter list will further deepen people’s trust in democracy. The question is whether it is right to take such a step now or it should have been done after the elections.
Gyanesh Kumar said that talks have been held with election officials of all 36 states and union territories of India. There was an open discussion on voter list amendment and many suggestions were taken even at the technical level. He especially thanked the voters of Bihar, as 7.5 crore people actively participated in the process. The commission wants the names of old, duplicate and dead voters to be removed in every state and people to be added on the basis of new qualifications. This process is said to be necessary to conduct clean and credible elections.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has raised questions on this. He says that the Commission should not act in such a hurry. He warned that there were already apprehensions regarding SIR in Bihar and implementing it now could raise doubts on the independence of the commission. Abdullah said that processes like delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir have benefited a particular party in the past also. That is why he appealed to the Commission to wait till the Bihar Assembly elections are over. This statement of his has become a new topic of political debate.
Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has supported the commission’s move. He said that nationwide thorough revision of voter lists is extremely important to maintain transparency and political purity. Manjhi said that only when the list is clean will people’s faith in democracy remain intact. He called it a big initiative towards electoral reforms. Manjhi says that the presence of deceased or duplicate names in the voter list raises questions on the electoral process. In such a situation, this decision of the Commission is in the interest of both the public and democracy.
JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar also defended the commission. He said that the work of removing dead and fake names was necessary for a long time. Congress definitely opposed this but the court clearly said that the Election Commission has the right to amend the voter list. This support of the judiciary is a big relief for the Commission. Neeraj Kumar said that the opposition’s opposition may be due to political reasons but the public wants a clean list. He expressed confidence that this process will strengthen transparency.
Experts believe that SIR will benefit the common voters. At the time of elections, many people complain that their names are missing from the list or printed wrongly. This revision can reduce such errors. Also, fake voting will be banned. If this process is implemented properly in every state then the democratic system will become stronger. People will be able to reach polling stations with confidence. This is why the Commission is considering it as its most important responsibility.
The Election Commission has made it clear that this work will be done in every state in the coming months. Election dates have been announced in Bihar and preparations are in full swing in other states also. The Commission says that purification of voter list is a guarantee of electoral integrity. But the opposition is calling it wrong from the point of view of time. The question is whether this step will further increase public confidence or deepen the political dispute. Its effect will be clearly visible in the coming days.
