Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 6: As the government rejected the opposition demand for a discussion in Parliament on the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar on the ground that the matter was sub-judice, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to give a detailed response to an application seeking the particulars and reason for each of the 65 lakh voters deleted from the draft electoral roll published on August 1.
A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant told the poll body to file the particulars by August 9. A hearing has already been scheduled on August 12. The application was orally mentioned by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi for urgent hearing.
The application said the reasons for deletion of the voters were various, including deaths, permanent shifting out of the State, duplication of names and untraceability, etc. However, the reason for removing each name is not individually shown, either constituency-wise or booth-wise, in the draft roll.
“Direct the publication of a full and final Assembly constituency and part/booth wise list of names and details of approximately 65 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were not submitted along with reasons for non-submission (death, permanently shifted, duplication, untraceable, etc) against each name,” the application sought.
The applicants have also asked for the publication of an Assembly constituency and part/booth-wise list of electors on the draft electoral rolls whose enumeration forms have been marked ‘not recommended by the BLOs (Booth Level Officers).’
“Information obtained for two districts, namely Darbhanga and Kaimur, show the marking ‘not recommended by BLO’ against a large percentage of electors whose enumeration forms have been uploaded. In Darbhanga and Kaimur, 10.6% and 12.6% of electors, respectively, have been marked ‘not recommended by BLO’,” Mr Bhushan submitted.
He said the ECI had the required information, as was evident from a press release issued by it on July 25. This release had provided details of the 65 lakh voters. The press release had cited local BLO and booth-level agents (BLAs) reports naming 22 lakh deceased electors, seven lakh electors who had duplicate registrations, and 35 lakh voters who had either permanently migrated or could not be traced. Adding to this, the local officials had reported that 1.2 lakh electors had not yet submitted their enumeration forms.
The application submitted that post the publication of the draft roll on August 1, the ECI had also provided a list of the 65 Lakh electors whose names were deleted to the BLAs of a “few” political parties.
“The list with names of 65 lakh deleted electors curiously fails to disclose the reason for the non-submission of their enumeration forms, an information that the Election Commission evidently possesses. In other words, it fails to provide any explanation as to why these names were not included in the draft electoral rolls whether for reason of having been deceased, permanently migrated out of Bihar, being untraceable or on the ground of duplicate entry.” Mr Bhushan argued.
He argued that even the list of deleted names provided to a few political parties has served no purpose as they cannot be used to cross-check any details from the ground in the absence of the reasons for such deletions.
“The ECI’s concealment of reason for deletion against each name in the list of 65 lakh electors seems to be an attempt to obviate the public, including the petitioners from ascertaining whether or not electors whose names figure in the list, are indeed dead or permanently migrated. It is to be noted that as per the Election Commission, those whose names do not figure in the draft roll stand do not enjoy the right to routine legal remedies (notice, personal hearing and appeals) available under Section 21A of the Registration of Voters Rules They do not have the option of participating in the process of claims and objections and thus are at the biggest risk of disenfranchisement,” the application said.
In Parliament amidst repeated disruptions by Opposition members, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that a discussion on the SIR in Bihar could not take place in the House as the matter was pending before the Supreme Court and the rules do not allow discussion on issues under adjudication.
As soon as the House convened at 2 p.m. after two earlier disruptions, the Opposition continued to demand a discussion on the electoral revision issue. Mr Rijiju said the rules of the Lok Sabha did not permit such a discussion.
Citing a ruling by former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar, the Minister said the functioning and responsibilities of an autonomous body such as the Election Commission of India (ECI) could not be deliberated in the House. “I would like to ask the Opposition members if you want to break the rules of this House and throw away the provisions of the Constitution,” Mr Rijiju said.
The demand for a debate in the House on the SIR exercise in Bihar was made on August 1 when the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders submitted a joint letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asking for a discussion on the controversial issue.
In their letter, the Opposition MPs expressed deep concern over the SIR exercise in Bihar, especially a few months before the state Assembly elections. The signatories to the letter included Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress’ Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi, DMK’s TR Baalu, NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule, RSP’s N K Premachandran, SP’s Lalji Verma, TMC’s Kakoli Ghose Dastidar, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Savant and RJD’s Abhay Kumar.
“We, the undersigned Members of Parliament representing various Opposition parties, wish to express our deep concern over the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar, especially a few months before the state assembly elections,” the Opposition MPs said in their letter.
“The revision of electoral rolls has direct implications on the right to vote and the conduct of free and fair elections. A special discussion in the Lok Sabha will allow Members to seek clarity and ensure transparency and accountability,” the letter said.
INDIA bloc parties have been demanding a discussion on SIR and have also staged multiple protests inside and outside Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session. The Opposition is also planning to take out a march to the Election Commission of India headquarters next week.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal described the SIR as an exercise “to remove targeted voters.” “The Election Commission introduced the system, they [the Union government] are justifying. Then why are they running away from a discussion on SIR in Parliament? What do they want to hide? The people of India would like to know why this SIR is happening,” Mr Venugopal said.
Earlier in the day, INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in the Parliament complex before proceedings commenced. The morning session of the Lok Sabha also saw two adjournments over the same issue. As soon as the House met at 11 a.m., Speaker Om Birla adjourned proceedings till noon, stating that the Opposition was not interested in the proper functioning of the House.
When the House reconvened at 12 noon, Opposition members entered the Well, prompting Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, to urge them to return to their seats. “Entire country is sad because of your [Opposition members’] action. You should have a constructive discussion in the House and not disrupt the proceedings,” Mr Saikia said before adjourning the House till 2 p.m., as the protests continued.