Blaming the system for rejection by the people

Indian democracy is a reflection of the world's largest public will.

- BALBIR PUNJ

Here, elections are not just confined to change of power, but a sacred national ritual — where every vote serves as the pulsation of a healthy democratic system. Therefore, the accuracy of the electoral rolls is not only an administrative work of the Election Commission of India (ECI), but also a question of protecting the constitutional spirit of India.With this basic spirit, the Election Commission launched a massive campaign of ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) of the electoral rolls from July 1this year, so that no ineligible person (including infiltrators) is included in the rolls and no eligible citizen is left out. After Bihar, the process is underway in 12 more states. The previous SIR was conducted in the country during 2002-04. Itis ironicthat those political parties and their top leaders who were trying to project themselves as the ‘protectors’ of the Constitution by waving copies ofit, are now raising baseless questions on this statutory electoral reform process inside and outside the Parliament.

Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the nationwide SIR by opponents, including opposition parties as well as self-proclaimed “protectors of the Constitution and democracy”. Former

Union Minister Kapil Sibal and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi are representing them as senior advocates. The top Court has rejected theirargumentthat SIR is an unnecessary process and that the ECI has no authority to conduct it. Moreover, the Court, in its hearing on November 26, also noted that none of the ineligible voters whose names were removed during the SIR in Bihar had filed any objection.