The Election Commission has published 65 lakh deleted voter names in Bihar within 56 hours of a Supreme Court order. Reasons for deletions are now public on district websites.
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has now published the names of nearly 65 lakh voters whose names were deleted from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls. This step was taken after a strict order from the Supreme Court of India.
The lists have been uploaded on the websites of all district magistrates, and the reasons for deleting each voter’s name have also been mentioned.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Sunday that the Commission acted quickly on the order.
“Within 56 hours of the top court directive, the names of voters that were not included in the draft electoral roll have been posted on district websites,”
Kumar told reporters at a press conference.
The matter reached the Supreme Court after petitions were filed against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. On August 14, the top court directed the EC to make public the names that were deleted.
The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed a clear order:
“It will be displayed on the website of every district electoral officer. The same shall also reveal the reason for non-inclusion in the draft roll.”
The Supreme Court also made sure that the deleted names should be searchable using Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.
The bench further said:
“Wide publicity shall be given in vernacular language newspapers which have maximum circulation and it must be broadcast and telecast on Doordarshan and other channels. The district election officer if they have social media handle shall display the notice there as well.”
The order also gave relief to voters who lost their names from the rolls. It said that they should be allowed to raise claims.
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The order added,
“May submit their claims along with copy of their Aadhaar cards,”
At the press briefing, the Chief Election Commissioner also defended the process of SIR. He explained that the voter list system in India works in a very detailed and decentralised way.
He explained,
“The electoral system in India is a multi-layered, decentralised construct as envisaged by law,”
According to him, it is the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who prepare and finalise the rolls.
He also raised a question in defence of the EC’s position:
“Should the EC issue notice to 1.5 lakh voters without declaration under oath by the complainant?”
Kumar pointed out that political parties and individuals already have time from August 1 to September 1 to file their claims and objections.
The CEC also warned against political misinformation.
He said,
“It is a matter of grave concern that some parties were spreading ‘misinformation’ on the exercise,”
In its affidavit before the Supreme Court, the Election Commission gave details of the deletions. Out of the 65 lakh deletions, 22 lakh were voters who had passed away, around seven lakh were found registered in multiple constituencies, and nearly 35 lakh were either people who had migrated or could not be traced.
Earlier, the poll body had argued that under the law it is not required to prepare or publish a separate list of deleted names.
But after the Supreme Court’s order, the EC has now ensured that the names and reasons are made public not only on district websites but also at panchayat bhawans, notice boards, and block development offices.
Meanwhile, the Opposition, mainly the Congress, has attacked the Election Commission and accused it of removing voters on a massive scale. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who launched his ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in Bihar on Sunday, said that the EC was using different standards.
He alleged: the EC was asking him to submit affidavits for his claims of “vote chori,” but BJP leaders who made similar claims were not being asked to do the same.
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