Editorial: Bihar SIR — Election Commission must be fair and flexible

It is puzzling that India’s poll panel has discarded its own findings of more than two decades in registering electors as per its notified due process

The key question that needs to be asked in the ongoing row over the voter revision exercise in poll-bound Bihar is why the Election Commission chose to place the burden of proof on voters. It is puzzling that the poll panel has discarded its own findings of more than two decades in registering electors as per its notified due process. Under the June 24 order issued by the EC, any person not listed in the 2003 Electoral Rolls — an estimated 2.93 crore individuals — must submit a document to prove their eligibility to vote. This is quite unprecedented. The earlier practice involved house-to-house enumeration where the head of the family would provide details of all adult members without any document supporting citizenship. Now, the EC’s move to make a distinction between pre-2003 and post-2003 defies any logic. Amid this confusion, the Supreme Court’s suggestion to include Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ration cards in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a welcome development. The poll panel must accept this and adopt a more flexible approach, allowing all eligible voters to exercise their franchise. The documents suggested by the apex court are widely accessible. Of the three, Aadhaar and Election ID cards are nearly ubiquitous in Bihar, with ration cards available to nearly two-thirds of the population. Even if the EC agrees to expand the list of documents that electors are required to submit for reconfirming the satisfaction of the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), the distinction made between two groups of electors, pre and post-2003, is unreasonable and needs a thorough review.

While there should be no two opinions about the need for revision of electoral rolls as mandated under the Constitution, it is the timing and manner in which the EC is going about the process that have raised concerns. Undertaking such an exercise, requiring submission of additional documents just four months before the Assembly elections can lead to the exclusion of a large number of voters from the electoral list. It is nearly impossible for 7.8 crore electors to be verified by the end of July. There are genuine concerns that it could lead to mass disenfranchisement, especially among marginalised groups like migrant labourers, women and the poor. This negates the very purpose of democracy, which is to facilitate accessibility, not raise barriers. Instead of inspiring confidence, its hasty drive has created confusion among the people. The petitioners, including several Opposition leaders, claim that the paperwork rigmarole could disenfranchise many genuine voters. That’s an area of concern that the poll panel has to address on priority. The apex court too wondered why the Aadhaar card has been excluded from the SIR drive. Some critics have dubbed the current exercise “National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the backdoor”. The onus is on the EC to remove such apprehensions and set the record straight.

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