New Delhi [India], July 14 : Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday backed the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of poll bound Bihar's electoral rolls, saying that it is the responsibility of the government and the Election Commission to investigate any discrepancies in the voter list and that the poll panel is "doing a very good job."
The Union Minister's remarks come amid EC sources saying that a large number of individuals from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar have been found by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) with Aadhaar cards, domicile certificates and ration cards during house-to-house visits carried out as part of the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
Union Minister Manjhi also alleged that the opposition has been opposed to the revision because they themselves are "taking political advantage of these fake voters."
"It is the responsibility of the government and the Election Commission of India to investigate the discrepancies in the voter list...I have been raising the issue that people from outside (people from Bangladesh, Myanmar) are living illegally in Bihar. Only those people should have the right to vote who are residents of Bihar," the union minister told ANI.
Praising the poll panel for the voter list revision, he alleged that the Opposition leaders have objected to revision because they are taking advantage of the "fake voters."
"The Election Commission of India is doing a very good job. The opposition leaders who are opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise mean that they are taking political advantage of these fake voters," he said.
The state will have Assembly polls later in the year. The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that till Saturday evening, 80.11 per cent of electors in Bihar submitted their forms, adding that the commission is moving ahead to complete the collection of Enumeration Forms (EFs) before the stipulated time of July 25.