Mamata Leads Oppn Charge on ECI Drive

Leading opposition parties on Thursday attacked the Election Commission of India over its decision to conduct a door-to-door special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, beginning with Bihar, with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee saying the move was more dangerous than the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

- Abhishek Angad and Anirban Guha Roy

NEW DELHI/PATNA:

In Bihar, which is scheduled to go to the polls later this year, the Opposition Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance signaled that it will launch a protest and emphasized that the exercise was totally impractical and would lead to the omission of names of tens of thousands of voters who cannot provide necessary documents.

"I don't understand the reason behind the ECI move or the rationale behind selecting these dates. This is nothing short of a scam. I seek clarification from the commission on whether they are trying to implement the NRC through the back door. In fact, this looks to be more dangerous than the NRC which every political party in Opposition must resist," Banerjee said.

On Tuesday, ECI had said that it will undertake SIR of the electoral roll across the country, beginning with Bihar, to weed out ineligible names, citing rapid urbanization, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct house-to-house surveys for verification during the process of this intensive revision that will end in Bihar by July 25.

The last time such an exercise was done was in seven states, including Bihar, in 2003.

As part of the process, block-level officers will give forms to people in house visits, guide them on filling it up, and collect it along with documents. The representatives of recognized political parties will be part of the process. People can also upload their form and documents online. Based on the people who have submitted the form, the draft roll will be made. After claims and objections, the final roll will be released.