Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gaurav Bhatia on Friday targeted the opposition party after the Supreme Court allowed the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar, saying that this order is a “big shock” for the opposition parties.
Addressing the media, the BJP leader said that the decision of the Supreme Court is a major setback for those who wanted to pursue their politics through such voters who did not have the constitutional right to vote.
The BJP leader said, “This is a major setback for those who wanted to pursue their politics through voters who did not have the constitutional right to vote, who did not want transparency in the voting process.”
He further said, “Yesterday the Supreme Court did not stop the process of the Election Commission on the opposition’s petition, which has sent a strict message. Now Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi need to pay attention to it. This is a big shock for the opposition party. Whatever party or person does not believe in the Supreme Court or legal process, he should also understand this.”
The decision came by the Supreme Court after the Election Commission is allowed to continue the work of special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar, where elections are to be held later this year.
A bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi did not ban the SIR process, but asked the Election Commission to consider permission to prove Aadhaar, ration card and voter photo identity as acceptable documents to prove the voter identity during the SIR of the voter list in Bihar.
The bench said in its order, “We have prima facie the opinion that the Election Commission will also include documents like Aadhaar, Ration Card, Voter ID Card etc. in the interest of justice. It is to decide the Election Commission to decide whether it wants to accept the documents or not, and if he does not do this, give reasons for their decisions, which will be sufficient to satisfy the petitioners, which will be sufficient to satisfy the petitioners.
Opposition parties and leaders had earlier accused the amendment of the voter list as “NRC (National Citizen Register)” from the back door, “Vote theft”, as well as questioned the freedom of the constitutional body.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organized a huge “Bihar bandh” rally in Patna against the voter list amendment in the election state on Wednesday, where the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the pattern of electoral rigging seen in Maharashtra can also be repeated in Bihar. In its order, the apex court said that the time is very short for this process, as the deadline for this process is very less, because the election is going to be held in Bihar.
The Supreme Court set the date of July 28 for hearing the petitions challenging the Election Commission’s move to SIR of voter lists in Bihar and asked the Election Commission to file an affidavit within a week.
During the hearing, the bench said that Aadhaar should be included in the list of acceptable documents accepted as an identity card. The Peetha said, “We believe that since Aadhaar is considered a concrete evidence to include in the voter list … hence it should be included. Your calculation list is fully identified, matriculation certificate etc. The move was challenged.
The petitions have demanded a directive to cancel the election of the Election Commission of the Election Commission of June 24, under which it is mandatory for a large section of voters in Bihar to submit a evidence of citizenship to remain in the voter list. In the case, there has also been a concern over the widely prevailing documents like Aadhaar and ration cards being excluded from the list, in which it has been said that it is said that it is said that it will have a resistant effect on the poor and margins.
