Bihar Voter List Revision Sparks Political Debate
The Election Commission has started the revision of the voter list before the Bihar elections. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders had been taking a sharp stance on the voter list since the Maharashtra elections. After this, the Election Commission decided to get the voter list verified. The Election Commission's implementation of the decision has sparked controversy.
Congress, RJD, Trinamool Congress, Prashant Kishore's Jan Suraj Party, Left parties and Bihar's VIP Party have again raised questions about the Election Commission. If seen at first glance, the Election Commission has taken this step under Section 21 (3) of the Representation of the People Act 1950 and the Voter Registration Rules 1960. Under which the Commission can order a special revision of the voter list at any time. Under this amendment, all citizens will have to fill the enumeration form individually and all voters registered after January 1, 2003 will have to submit documents of citizenship proof. This process will start from June 25 and will continue till September 30 and the final voter list will be published on the same day.
The Election Commission has cited several reasons behind the intensive revision. These include the rapid pace of urbanization, internal migration, delay in removing the names of the dead from the list, registration of new eligible youth and inclusion of names of allegedly illegal foreign citizens. The Commission says that all these reasons affect the accuracy of the voter list and this special exercise is necessary to correct it. During this intensive revision, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) will go door-to-door and collect personal information from each voter. For this, every voter will have to fill a personal enumeration form. Those who have added their names to the voter list after 2003 will also have to provide proof of their citizenship. In this, documents like passport, birth certificate, parent's voter identity card, pension payment order, land records, residence certificate issued by the local body etc. will be considered valid. Earlier, BLOs used to visit homes and get the 'enumeration pad' filled by the head of the family but this time each person will have to fill separate documents and forms. Also, an additional declaration has been added to Form 6 for new voter registration, in which it will be mandatory to provide clear proof of citizenship.
People born between 1 July 1987 and 2 December 2004 will have to submit a declaration form along with their parents' birth certificates to get their names registered in the voter list. The opposition India Alliance was earlier questioning the sudden increase in the number of voters but now it also smells a conspiracy in the action of the Election Commission. The leaders of the India Alliance called the Election Commission's order a conspiracy to snatch voting rights from the poor and said that the revision exercise would risk ostracizing the state. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the Election Commission is targeting the youth of Bengal under the guise of verification process. Mamata Banerjee even termed it more dangerous than NRC. Elections are going to be held in Bihar this year, while elections in the other five states West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu are proposed next year. The opposition alleges that rural people will be left out of this process.
Then the names of fake voters will be included to increase the list. Doubts have also been raised that under pressure from the BJP, the Election Commission may remove the names of those people from the voter list who are considered to be supporters of the opposition parties. The question is also being raised that how can the work which takes two years be completed in 25 days. This is like implementing NRC through the back door. The Election Commission has taken the right step by amending the voter list in view of the allegations of the opposition, but the opposition is singing its own tune.
The Election Commission should not only be impartial but should also appear impartial. This is not the first time that the Election Commission and the opposition are face to face. The number of parties, the number of voters, the number of polling booths have all increased. Along with this, complaints against the Election Commission have also increased. Many doubts have already been raised about everything from EVMs to providing information about vote percentage. Although the Commission has been rejecting all the allegations, the credibility of the independent constitutional institution has also been affected. How did the number of voters in Maharashtra increase more in five months than it did in five years? The Election Commission could not give a clear answer on this too.
The Election Commission will have to assure the people of Bihar and the opposition leaders that this process is transparent, fair and no mistake will be made in it. All this work should be done so efficiently that no harm is caused to the voters and political parties.