SIR taking away fundamental right of voters, says AHINDA leader

Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is taking away the fundamental right of voters, AHINDA leader S.M. Patil Ganihar told reporters in Vijayapura on Saturday. He warned that AHINDA would take up a State-wide agitation against the exercise.

“One of the most revolutionary changes introduced by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the Constitution is universal adult franchise. We need to protect and preserve it. But SIR is taking away this right of citizens. Already, SIR exercises in several States have removed the names of crores of eligible voters, citing silly reasons, spelling errors, and failure to produce documents. Now that the process is starting in Karnataka with officers mapping names of electors based on their 2002 residence, we need to be vigilant. But then, scholars and activists have argued that ECI does not have a right or mandate to hold SIR. That is why I appeal to the Congress leaders to raise their voice against SIR,’’ he said.

He alleged that the ECI was acting on the behest of the BJP to create a solid voting bloc that was loyal to the BJP alone. “ECI officers are therefore targeting only potential voters of the Congress or other opposition parties. We have seen reports of the names of former judges, defence officers, Booth Level Officers, and academicians being left out of elector rolls. Scores of people have complained against SIR to the ECI and in various courts,” Mr. Ganihar said.

He said that several lakhs of rural poor from Northern Karnataka travel to other districts and States looking for work. They do not have documents that are required to prove their residence or voting history. Such people face the risk of losing their right to vote. That is because most the common people do not know about the dangers of SIR.

ECI rules say that an elector’s father or mother should have voted in 2002 for their name to appear in the voter list of 2002. But many people do not have any documents to prove this. What is more, ECI has not created wider awareness about SIR. This has created chaos and panic among some communities. There are fears that the poll duty officials are targeting minority communities and weeding out their names.

Secondly, the ECI itself has not held an extensive awareness programme on SIR to clear doubt. Because of this, there is strong confusion prevailing among the people. Many people think that SIR is a process to revoke their citizenship. In such a situation, the ruling Congress government should raise its voice and ensure that all the fears are dispelled by exerting pressure on ECI”, he said.

“The ECI says that for SIR, a person’s father or mother should have voted in 2002, as their name should appear in the voter list of 2002. But many people may not get their documents. Secondly, the ECI itself has not held an extensive awareness programme on SIR to clear doubts. Because of this, there is strong confusion prevailing among the people. Many people think that SIR is a process to revoke their citizenship. In such a situation, the ruling Congress government should raise its voice and ensure that all the fears are dispelled by exerting pressure on ECI,” he said.