New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday called for the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanded greater transparency in the process during the INDIA bloc meeting in the national capital.
Addressing opposition leaders, Kharge said India’s electoral system was founded on the principle of “one person, one vote, one value” and alleged that concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission had raised questions about the process.
Kharge claimed that opposition parties had not received satisfactory answers to their concerns regarding EVMs, electoral-roll changes and alleged voter-list manipulation. He also referred to allegations previously raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concerning electoral rolls in Mahadevpura, Aland, Haryana and Maharashtra.
On the SIR exercise, Kharge alleged that 13.3 crore names had been removed from electoral rolls, warning that eligible voters could be excluded. The Congress has demanded that the pre-SIR electoral roll be used for future elections and that every addition, deletion and correction be made transparent.
He further sought that voters facing deletion should receive prior notice, reasons for the proposed removal and an effective mechanism to appeal the decision.
Kharge also targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that disagreements within the Election Commission raised questions about its functioning and calling for Kumar’s removal.
On electronic voting, Kharge said the INDIA bloc should advocate a return to paper ballots, stating, “The ballot belongs to the people. The mandate belongs to the people.”
The Congress president also called for simpler registration procedures for first-time voters and raised concerns over changes to Form 6, which is used for new voter registration. The Election Commission’s voter services portal currently provides Form 6 for citizens aged 18 and above or those approaching 18.
The INDIA bloc meeting was convened amid opposition concerns over the SIR exercise, electoral rolls, EVMs and the functioning of the Election Commission.
