• Source:JND
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Bihar SIR Stir: The political stir over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar continued to intensify with the poll boycott threat by the state LoP and the Rashtriya Janata Party leader, Tejashwi Yadav, on Thursday. In Delhi, INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, staged protests inside and outside the Parliament, deepening the issue. After the EVM row, this was one of the first times the Election Commission of India has faced a serious allegation of being biased towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.

What Is SIR And Why Row Over It?

The poll body conducted the Special Intensive Revision exercise to remove the fake, dead and those migrant voters who hold two voter ID cards from the voter list. According to the ECI, the SIR till July 24, the drive covered 99 per cent electors in the election-bound state.

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The SIR Found:

*21.6 lakh deceased electors reported.
*31.5 lakh permanently migrated electors reported.
*7 lakh electors found enrolled at more than one place.
*1 lakh electors untraceable.
*15 lakh Electors’ Forms not returned.
*7.21 crore Electors’ Forms (91.32 per cent) received and digitised.

The opposition leaders alleged that the Election Commission conspired to remove non-BJP voters.

What's Ahead In SIR?

From August 1 -- when draft electoral rolls will be published -- to September 1, a full one-month will be available to any member of the public to file objections to any additions, deletions and rectification in the draft poll rolls.

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Functionaries said the 12 political parties, which have been given a list of electors who have shifted, not found or have died, will know why such names will not be included in the draft rolls. They said political parties have been asked to connect with such voters so that they can approach the poll authorities in the state for inclusion of their names in the draft rolls. The final roll will be published on September 30 after the due claims and objection process to ensure that no eligible citizen is excluded and no ineligible one is included.

Unprecedented 'Poll Boycott' Threat By RJD

RJD's Tejashwi resorted to a strategy by saying that his party may think over boycotting the Bihar Assembly elections, an unprecedented threat in the recent history of Indian politics. The former Bihar deputy chief minister on Thursday asserted that the party was keeping the option open to boycott the upcoming assembly polls in the wake of controversy over the SIR. The leader of the opposition made the remark outside the state assembly on the penultimate day of the monsoon session, responding to queries from reporters.

He alleged, "Booth-level officers are putting their own signatures and thumb impressions, on behalf of voters, on enumeration forms. Blank forms are being used like waste paper. Independent journalists who point out these anomalies are getting slapped with FIRs. And the government is okay with all this because the EC is acting like a political tool of the ruling dispensation."

Rahul Gandhi Backs Tejashwi, Says 'Have Proof'

Echoing the similar sentiment, Gandhi claimed that the Congress has "concrete 100 per cent proof" that the Election Commission allowed cheating in a constituency in Karnataka. He warned the poll panel that it would not get away with this "because we are going to come for you". The Election Commission responded, saying "if an election petition has been filed, then wait for the verdict of Hon'ble High Court. If not, then why make baseless allegations now?" An election petition can be filed within 45 days after poll results are announced by anyone not satisfied with the verdict. Such petitions can be filed in high courts of the state of the constituency concerned.

Gandhi alleged that the poll panel is not functioning as the Election Commission of India and is "not doing its job". Asked about the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's reported remarks that the option of boycotting the Bihar assembly polls was open, Gandhi told reporters that his party has "concrete 100 per cent proof" of the EC allowing cheating in a seat in Karnataka.

Election Commission's Defence

On Thursday, the poll body responded to the growing heat against it, saying the Constitution of India is the mother of Indian democracy. "By fearing these things (critics), should the Election Commission, getting misled by some people, pave the way for some to cast fake votes in the name of deceased voters, voters who have migrated permanently, voters who have got their votes registered at two places, fake voters or foreign voters, going against the Constitution, first in Bihar, then in the entire country," he asked.

(With agencies inputs)