Patna (Bihar) [India], July 22 : RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday strongly criticised the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging large-scale irregularities and 'disenfranchisement' of poor and migrant voters.
Addressing a press conference, Yadav said the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the rest of the opposition had consistently objected to the SIR process.
Yadav said, "We have repeatedly raised objections regarding SIR in Bihar... So much fraud is happening; the BLOs are signing the form, putting thumb impressions and uploading it. There is confusion among the people."
Yadav claimed that the 'disenfranchisement' of migrant labourers from Bihar, who are compelled to work outside the state for a livelihood, raised a critical question on the legitimacy of the electoral process.
"There are some documents that the poor do not have, so how will those who go out for work become voters. There are 11 such documents that the poor do not have. The migrants from Bihar who have to work outside, how did they become voters," he asked.
He said that the INDIA alliance had submitted an adjournment motion in the Assembly seeking a special discussion so that "all matters can come to light."
Invoking Bihar's legacy as the cradle of democracy, Yadav said, "If there is a grand temple of democracy in Bihar, it is the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and Bihar is the mother of democracy. If democracy itself is being dismantled from there, then it becomes the duty of all of us, whether from the ruling side or the opposition."
He cautioned against large-scale deletions of names from the voter rolls and emphasised that the right to vote is fundamental.
Yada said, "It is the voters who elect representatives, and if their very right to vote is taken away, then what meaning is left for us to remain here? We raise their concerns. If you strike off the names of lakhs of voters from the electoral rolls, this cannot be allowed. Whether a person is a citizen of this country or not--that will not be decided by the Election Commission; it will be decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India."
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India on Tuesday said that during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, it has discovered that 18 lakh of the registered voters have passed away, and 26 lakh electors have shifted to another constituency. ECI also noted that more than 7 lakh voters are enrolled at two places.
In a release, ECI shared that out of the total 7,89,69,844 voters, 97.30 per cent, or 76,834,228, have filled the enumeration forms so far.
The Election Commission said that CEO/DEOs/EROs/BLOs are extensively working with the representatives of all political parties and have shared a list of 21.36 lakh electors whose forms have not been received so far.
ERO/BLOs have also shared a list of nearly 52.30 lakh electors who are reportedly deceased, have permanently shifted, or have enrolled at multiple places.
Additionally, detailed lists of voters not found are being shared by EROs/BLOs with political parties, ECI added.
According to the poll body, a full one-month period, from August 1 to September 1, will be available to any member of the public to file objections for any additions, deletions, and rectifications in draft electoral rolls.
Earlier in the day, Opposition parties in Bihar protested against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly trying to snatch away the voting rights of the people ahead of assembly elections.
The second day of the Bihar state assembly had the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left parties protesting on the steps of the assembly, holding placards and raising slogans against the alleged "vote theft" in the state ahead of the assembly polls.