Row over SIR: 'Should dead voters, foreigners stay?' CEC pushes back on political pressure

New Delhi: Amid political opposition - including in Parliament - to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral roll, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday shot back at critics, asking whether the poll panel should get intimidated and allow dead electors, 'fake' voters/foreigners and those registered at multiple places or having migrated out permanently, to stay on the electoral rolls and vote in elections.

"Isn't a pure voter list being prepared by the ECI through a transparent process the foundation for fair elections and a strong democracy?" he asked, according to the ECI.

The CEC underlined that allowing ineligible people to vote, whether in Bihar or later in the entire country, is against the Constitution.


"At some point, we all must go beyond ideologies and ponder over these profound questions. Maybe the appropriate time has arrived for India to address this concern," the CEC is said to have cautioned.

The CEC's remarks have come as the time limit for submission of enumeration forms closes in Bihar on July 25, setting the stage for publication of the state's draft electoral roll on August 1.

They also come ahead of the July 28 SC hearing on the matter.

The ECI's latest assessments show that over one lakh electors in Bihar are 'untraceable' while 21.6 lakh electors have passed away. As many as 31.5 lakh electors are said to have permanently migrated out of their constituencies, while more than seven lakh are yet to submit their forms despite several visits by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

This means all the above will not figure in the August 1 electoral roll, sparking political concern over 'disenfranchisement' of those unable to submit their form.

ECI, however, has underlined that any aggrieved eligible elector, or a recognised party on his behalf, will have time until September 1 to 'claim' inclusion in the final electoral roll if he was somehow left out by the BLO or if his name was wrongly excluded from the draft roll.