NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India's (ECI) determination to behaviour a peculiar intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls successful Bihar, calling the process a nonstop menace to antiauthoritarian rights.
In a scathing critique, Moitra accused the canvass assemblage of acting astatine the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and attempting to disenfranchise millions, peculiarly migrant and mediocre voters."The All India Trinamool Congress nether the enactment of Mamata Banerjee has pointed retired the large information to ideology which is the caller peculiar intensive revision that the Election Commission has started successful Bihar and plans to commencement successful Bengal close aft and successful different states arsenic well," Moitra said.
"I person petitioned the Supreme Court past nighttime connected this and it is violative."Moitra argued that the process violates aggregate law provisions — Articles 14, 19 and 21 — arsenic good arsenic Articles 3, 325 and 326. “This peculiar intensive revision is violative… It is besides against the Representation of People's Act 1960 and the Registration of Electors Rules,” she said.
According to her, the SIR introduces 11 caller documents arsenic impervious of eligibility — nary of which includes commonly utilized IDs similar Aadhaar oregon ration cards.
“Now isolated from your commencement certificate, nary different papers similar a matriculation certificate oregon a PSU paper gives you the spot of birth,” she said. Moitra warned that the request to found parents’ spot of commencement successful immoderate cases some parents would disenfranchise “two and a fractional to 3 crore radical successful Bihar” and could soon beryllium applied successful Bengal arsenic well.“This is wholly against the rights of the mediocre migrant workers who volition person nary accidental successful the abbreviated clip framework to really person to download forms and upload them again.
I mean, this full happening is simply a brainsick workout and its lone extremity is to disenfranchise voters,” she said. Moitra added that the ECI had strayed from its mandate: “Instead of doing that, the Election Commissioner of India has taken it upon itself to go an limb of the BJP… This is simply a large shame.”PTI reported that Moitra’s petition, filed nether Article 32, besides seeks to halt the ECI from issuing akin directives successful different states.
A akin plea has been filed by the Association of Democratic Reforms, informing that the workout could “arbitrarily and without owed process” region lakhs of names from the rolls.Defending the revision, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said astir each governmental enactment successful Bihar had raised concerns astir inaccuracies successful the voters’ list, prompting the EC to act. He stressed that those who were listed successful the 2003 rotation request not taxable immoderate birth-related documents.
But for those calved aft 1987, documents proving a parent’s spot of commencement are required, and for those calved aft 2004, impervious for some parents is necessary.The EC insists that the workout is intended to weed retired ineligible and non-resident voters, including amerciable immigrants. The revision, which began connected June 24, is scheduled to tally until July 25, and is being carried retired by implicit 1 lakh booth-level officers crossed Bihar.