Electoral Roll Revision: Mahua Moitra Says Bengal Is Next Target, Moves Court
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday alleged that ECI's order for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was intended to deprive the bonafide young electorate from voting in this year's polling, and the panel's next target would be West Bengal.
Moitra, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the order of the ECI, alleged that it violates several provisions of the Constitution and the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950.
"They (EC) have now introduced it to deprive the bonafide young electorate of Bihar, where elections are slated to be held shortly. Later, they will target Bengal, where elections are due in 2026," Moitra told PTI Video.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has already flagged this issue and talked about the EC's "diabolical game plan", she said.
"Leaders of different opposition parties have also voiced concern over the move and asked EC not to go ahead with it. We have now moved the Supreme Court to intervene in the issue," the Krishnanagar MP said.
Moitra said the order for the SIR was "aimed at disabling lakhs of bonafide voters who were born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004 and help the BJP at the Centre.
In her plea to the top court, Moitra sought a direction to restrain the Election Commission of India from issuing similar orders in other states of the country.
The EC on June 24 issued instructions to carry out an SIR in Bihar, apparently to weed out ineligible names and ensure only eligible citizens are included in the electoral roll.
Attaching a video of her statement before PTI, Mitra later posted on X handle, "The @ECISVEEP is now @BJP4India 's arm - executing its Machiavellian plans on ground. Has forgotten its constitutional mandate to provide enabling services to citizens to exercise their franchise.
The SIR order was in violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 21, 325, 328 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950 and Registration of Electors (RER) Rules, 1960, she said.
Besides Moitra, several civil society organisations such as PUCL and the Association of Democratic Reforms, and activists like Yogendra Yadav have approached the top court against the ECI's direction.
According to the ECI, the exercise was necessitated by rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants.
The ECI said it will scrupulously adhere to the constitutional and legal provisions in carrying out the revision of electoral rolls.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Why are Bihar's electoral rolls being revised?
The story so far: The Election Commission of India (EC) has initiated a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar before the general elections for its Legislative Assembly. What is an electoral roll? Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for the conduct of elections to Parliament and State legislature shall vest with the EC. Article 326 provides that every citizen who is not less than 18 years of age shall be entitled to be registered as a voter (elector). The electoral rolls are prepared by the EC as per the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RP Act). Section 16 of the RP Act disqualifies a non-citizen from being enrolled in the electoral roll. Section 19 requires that the person is not less than 18 years of age on the qualifying date and is ordinarily resident in the constituency. Section 20 of the RP Act provides the meaning of the term 'ordinarily resident'. It specifies that a person shall not be deemed to be 'ordinarily resident' in a constituency simply because he/she owns or possesses a dwelling house in such constituency. However, at the same time, a person 'temporarily absent' from his/her place of residence shall continue to be 'ordinarily resident' therein. Why has an SIR been initiated? Section 21 of the RP Act deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls. It authorises the EC to carry out a special revision of the electoral roll at any time for reasons to be recorded. The Election Commission has noted that there have been large scale additions and deletions to the electoral rolls over the last 20 years due to rapid urbanisation and migration. This has increased the possibility of duplicate entries in the roll. The Commission is constitutionally obligated to ensure that only citizens are enrolled in the electoral rolls. Accordingly, the EC has decided to carry out an SIR for the entire country, starting with Bihar. The last such SIR was carried out for Bihar in the year 2003. Since the Bihar Assembly elections are due in November, the EC has presently laid down the guidelines for an SIR of the Bihar electoral roll with the qualifying date as July 1, 2025. During the last SIR, enumerators were sent for house-to-house verification with a copy of the details of the existing voters. However, in the present SIR, every elector will have to submit an enumeration form to their respective Booth Level Officers (BLOs). For electors registered in the electoral roll as of January 2003 (on the basis of the last SIR), no further documents are required to be submitted except the extract of the 2003 electoral roll. However, electors registered after January 2003, have to additionally submit documents for establishing the date and place of birth for themselves and their parent(s) as required. The schedule for the current SIR is provided in Table 1. What are the pros and cons? There have been arguments for and against the SIR made by various stakeholders. The key issues of contention are summarised below. The process and time required for the entire exercise: Proponents in support of the SIR in its present form argue that the SIR in 2003 was carried out in 31 days without technological support. This time also the same amount of time will be taken for the exercise with technology. Moreover, there are more than one lakh BLOs, nearly 4 lakh volunteers and more than 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), appointed by political parties, to ensure the smooth implementation of this exercise. Counter arguments against the SIR in its present form state that it is a humungous task which involves the submission of forms by all eight crore voters that has never been done before. Furthermore, close to three crore voters would be required to submit documents establishing their date and place of birth for themselves and their parents. Migrant labourers and students may not be able to submit their enumeration forms within the deadline. Despite the presence of so many field level workers, there can be potential errors in inclusion and exclusion. The exclusion of Aadhaar as a document for registration: Proponents of the SIR in its present form say that the Aadhaar is neither a proof of date of birth nor of citizenship. The Aadhaar card itself carries a disclaimer stating that it can't be used as proof of citizenship. Hence, in line with constitutional and legal requirements, the Aadhaar has been excluded as a valid document. The list of valid documents include caste certificates, family registers and land allotment certificates. Proponents against the SIR in its present form argue that the Aadhaar has become an omnibus identity card for all sections of society, especially the under privileged who may not possess any other document. Form 6 for the inclusion of new voters as per the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 (RER) requires that Aadhaar be provided compulsorily unless the person doesn't have one. It is mentioned as a proof of date of birth and place of residence as per Form 6. These rules were made by the Central government as per the RP Act. It is only in the SIR guidelines that the EC has added a declaration form to be submitted along with Form 6, with additional documents other than Aadhaar for the purposes of establishing date and place of birth. Exclusion of migrants from the electoral roll: Arguments for the SIR in its present form state that the RP Act provides that only citizens who are 'ordinarily resident' should be included in the electoral roll of a constituency. Migrants who have moved away for long periods of time on account of education or employment would be included in the electoral roll of the constituency of their current residence as per provisions of the RP Act and the RER. However, counter arguments posit that the RP Act provides that 'persons temporarily absent' do not cease to be 'ordinarily resident'. Many migrant workers shift to other places within the State or outside the State but return at regular intervals to their place of birth/ upbringing. The families and properties of such migrants may continue in the same location where they would want to retain their right to vote. The EC, as recently as January 2023, had indicated its intention of providing a remote voting facility for such migrant workers subject to technical feasibility and acceptance by all stakeholders. What can be the way forward? To provide an analogy, the inclusion of an ineligible name in the electoral roll is like a guilty person going scot-free, while the exclusion of an eligible voter is akin to one innocent person suffering. Both these prospects would be a blight on democracy. Therefore, electoral rolls should be thoroughly checked and verified. First, the proposed timelines for the completion of such a mammoth exercise are stretched. The EC should ensure that adequate safeguards are put in place for the completion of the exercise without errors. The BLAs should actively participate to prevent errors of omission or addition. Secondly, the exclusion of Aadhaar from the list of valid documents can create issues for many, especially the underprivileged. After considering the ground realities during the first phase of the enumeration, the EC should adequately tailor the process, during the claims and objections phase, to ensure that no eligible citizen is excluded due to their inability to produce any document from the list of valid documents. Finally, migrant workers should not be removed from the rolls as that can result in significant deletions. Many such migrants have exercised their right to vote in the place of their birth/upbringing as per their choice and should continue to do so. It is pertinent to note that as per the amendment of the RP Act in 2010, non-resident Indians who have shifted out of India, even for the long term on account of employment, education or otherwise, are entitled to register and vote in the constituency in which their address as per passport is located. The issue of duplicate voter IDs for the same person in different constituencies should be addressed through Aadhaar seeding for which the EC had begun its consultative process in March 2025. Rangarajan. R is a former IAS officer and author of 'Courseware on Polity Simplified'. He currently trains at Officers IAS Academy. Views expressed are personal.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
91 per cent of TN cops think ‘custodial torture' is sometimes necessary: Report
The report, which threw light on the influence of public perception, said 37% of TN cops felt public pressure to a 'great extent' in treating suspected criminals with a 'heavy hand'. Moreover, 46% justified mobs punishing suspects in cases of sexual harassment or kidnapping of children 'to a great extent'. The survey showed that there wasn't a wide difference between the constabulary or IPS officers in the attitude towards extra-judicial measures, while those in the upper subordinate ranks showed relatively lesser inclination. In fact, IPS officers showed highest propensity to justify torture (34%), followed by the constabulary (32%). Only 35% in TN responded 'always' to the question on the likelihood of all arrest procedures being properly followed. Another 50% said 'sometimes' and 15% said 'rarely or never'. The survey, which also tried to capture institutional bias, showed that 44% of TN police felt Dalits are naturally prone to 'great or some extent' to commit crimes. Anoop Jaiswal, former DGP from TN, told TNIE that in India 'police interrogation' invariably meant 'roughing up' a suspect, which is not just illegal but criminal. Highlighting that the urgency to close cases swiftly by making suspects confess or recover stolen property was the key reason for custodial violence, Jaiswal said, 'Police should not commit bigger crimes to solve smaller crimes.' He stressed that officers at all levels, and not just in subordinate ranks, should undergo sensitisation programmes. Meeran Chadha Borwankar, former DGP from Maharashtra, who served as DG of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), responding to a set of findings shared with her by TNIE, raised doubts about the survey methodology as certain findings like TN police being more prone to adopting 'any means' to solve a case and IPS officers showing high propensity to justify torture did not seem correct. However, on the need for reforms, she said the basic and in-service training must have high emphasis on Constitution and human rights. She added that prompt action against deviant behaviour showed good results. While underlining that a well-resourced, trained and prompt criminal justice system will not have such violations, encounter killings in particular, she asked, 'The pertinent question is – are we ready to invest in it?'
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Delhi Fuel Ban: Govt would urge SC to allow uniform rules on overage vehicles, says CM Rekha Gupta
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has said that her government will urge the Supreme Court to allow uniform rules on overage vehicles in the national capital in line with those followed across the country. Gupta's remarks came after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena wrote to her saying it is 'irrational' to imagine that a 10-year-old diesel vehicle has reached its end of life in Delhi while remaining roadworthy and lawful in any other city under the same law. The L-G said in the letter sent to CM on Saturday that "this appears incongruent with the principle of legal certainty and equal treatment. " The LG also said the government should file a review petition before the Supreme Court apprising it of the range of initiatives taken by the government in the recent past and the changed circumstances for reconsideration of its order relating to end-of-life vehicles in relation to Delhi-NCR. Last week, the Delhi government urged the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to immediately put on hold the ban on refuelling petrol cars older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years. Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, in a letter to CAQM chairman Rajesh Verma, said the fuel ban is not feasible and cannot be implemented due to technological challenges. Starting July 1, all end-of-life (EOL) vehicles— diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years — irrespective of the state in which they are registered, were barred from fuelling in Delhi, according to a directive by the CAQM. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event on Sunday, Chief Minister Gupta said the government will heed the people's sentiments before the Supreme Court. "We will tell the Supreme Court about the pollution control measures taken by the government. The parameters that are applicable in the entire country should also apply to Delhi. We want Delhiites not to face any inconvenience," she said. When the order to ban fuel to overage vehicles was issued by CAQM, the government was worried since then, she said. "The previous governments never did anything to control pollution in Delhi. Hence, NGT had to intervene and take such steps. However, now the situation has changed. Our environment minister wrote a letter to CAQM and told them such a provision cannot be implemented in Delhi," she said. The chief minister said they are committed to providing relief to people. Gupta also pointed out that if an overage vehicle is denied fuel in Delhi, it can still be filled from neighbouring areas. The decision to ban end-of-life vehicles from the roads of Delhi as well as NCR (National Capital Region) is not new. A 2018 Supreme Court ruling banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi. A 2014 National Green Tribunal order also prohibits the parking of vehicles aged over 15 years in public areas. This time, however, the denial to refuel these vehicles at petrol pumps was introduced as a measure to enforce the ban In the communication to Gupta, Saxena also suggested that the government take up the matter with the CAQM chairman, presenting the entire gamut of facts for reconsidering the directions relating to overage vehicles and keeping them in abeyance at least until the entire NCR region is in a state of preparedness. Minister Sirsa said the government has accepted the suggestions made by the LG and is moving forward accordingly. "The chief minister will instruct the chief secretary to act on the LG's recommendations, including reaching out to the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Our stand is clear — vehicles should be evaluated based on actual emissions, not just their age,' Sirsa told PTI. Sirsa said that one of the five recommendations, which involved communicating with the CAQM, has already been acted upon. "We have already written to CAQM. The rest of the suggestions will also be taken up in due course," he said. Social media has been abuzz with public anger over the ban ever since it was implemented on July 1. A majority of Delhi vehicle owners (79 per cent) are against the 'fuel ban for old vehicles' rule, according to a new survey released on July 3. In the survey by LocalCircles, people were asked whether they supported the Delhi government's new rule that petrol pumps cannot sell fuel to 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles (including two-wheelers). Our stand is clear — vehicles should be evaluated based on actual emissions, not just their age.
