Amid the continuous opposition from opposition parties over allegations of ‘vote theft’ by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and special intensive revision of voter list in Bihar, the Election Commission (ECI) will hold a press conference at the National Media Center in New Delhi at 3 pm on Sunday. This will be the first press conference of the Election Commission after the special intensive revision (SIR) process starts in Bihar.
It is uncommon to hold a press conference on any issue other than the Election Commission officials announced the election schedule. The Election Commission has not yet clarified the subject of its press conference, although sources say it may be related to the allegations leveled by the opposition parties on the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of manipulating the voting figures and said that ‘vote stolen’ was done to ensure BJP’s victory in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections and Karnataka Lok Sabha elections.
The Election Commission has asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit the signed manifesto claiming to be incorrectly added or removed in the voter list. The Commission has even said that if the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha does not present an affidavit signed in support of their allegations, then they should apologize for misleading the country.
Opposition parties are opposing SIR in Bihar
The Election Commission has started a special intensive revision (SIR) of the state’s voter list four months before the Bihar assembly elections, which the opposition parties are opposing. Questions raised on this decision have now become a topic of discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament and the matter has reached the Supreme Court. The Election Commission says that the sole purpose of SIR is to include the name of every eligible citizen in the voter list and to remove the names of all suspicious or ineligible persons.
Opposition parties claim that this move of the Election Commission will deprive the franchise in the absence of crores of eligible citizens documents. The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission to publish the details of 65 lakh names removed from the voter list in Bihar to increase transparency in the voter list and publish them due to which the Commission has agreed. The Commission had uploaded the first format of the revised voter list on August 1 on its website as part of the SIR process, so that the people of Bihar can find their names.
Names can be added in Bihar till September 30
If the name of a eligible voter has been removed from the voter list, the Election Commission has given him a chance to add its name by 30 September. The final voter list will be published on 1 October. Under the ongoing special intensive revision process in Bihar, the booth level officers appointed by the Election Commission are going door-to-door to verify the voter list and then a new voter list is being prepared after the amendment.
Meanwhile, BLOs go door-to-door details of eligible voters in the prescribed form and attach one of the 11 documents recognized by the Commission along with that form. This process is implemented when the Election Commission of India (ECI) feels that existing voter lists either have serious flaws or require a review. This process is usually performed before a large election or after administrative processes such as restoration of constituencies.
