‘Great danger to democracy': Mahua Moitra moves SC over EC's voter list revision in Bihar; calls it ‘crazy exercise to disenfranchise'

Time of India

2 days ago

NEW DELHI:
Trinamool Congress
MP
Mahua Moitra
has moved the
Supreme Court
against the
Election Commission of India
's (ECI) move to conduct a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling the process a direct threat to democratic rights.
In a scathing critique, Moitra accused the poll body of acting at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and attempting to disenfranchise millions, particularly migrant and poor voters.
"The All India Trinamool Congress under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee has pointed out the great danger to democracy which is the new special intensive revision that the Election Commission has started in Bihar and plans to start in Bengal right after and in other states as well," Moitra said.
"I have petitioned the Supreme Court last night on this and it is violative."
Moitra argued that the process violates multiple constitutional provisions — Articles 14, 19 and 21 — as well as Articles 3, 325 and 326. 'This special intensive revision is violative… It is also against the Representation of People's Act 1960 and the Registration of Electors Rules,' she said.
According to her, the SIR introduces 11 new documents as proof of eligibility — none of which includes commonly used IDs like Aadhaar or ration cards.
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'Now apart from your birth certificate, no other document like a matriculation certificate or a PSU card gives you the place of birth,' she said. Moitra warned that the requirement to establish parents' place of birth in some cases both parents would disenfranchise 'two and a half to three crore people in Bihar' and could soon be applied in Bengal as well.
'This is completely against the rights of the poor migrant workers who will have no opportunity in the short time frame to actually have to download forms and upload them again.
I mean, this whole thing is a crazy exercise and its only goal is to disenfranchise voters,' she said.
Moitra added that the ECI had strayed from its mandate: 'Instead of doing that, the Election Commissioner of India has taken it upon itself to become an arm of the BJP… This is a great shame.'
PTI reported that Moitra's petition, filed under Article 32, also seeks to stop the ECI from issuing similar directives in other states.
A similar plea has been filed by the Association of Democratic Reforms, warning that the exercise could 'arbitrarily and without due process' remove lakhs of names from the rolls.
Defending the revision, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said nearly every political party in Bihar had raised concerns about inaccuracies in the voters' list, prompting the EC to act. He stressed that those who were listed in the 2003 roll need not submit any birth-related documents.
But for those born after 1987, documents proving a parent's place of birth are required, and for those born after 2004, proof for both parents is necessary.
The EC insists that the exercise is intended to weed out ineligible and non-resident voters, including illegal immigrants. The revision, which began on June 24, is scheduled to run until July 25, and is being carried out by over one lakh booth-level officers across Bihar.