New Delhi [India], July 13 : In sharp criticism of the way the Election Commission has conducted the Special Electoral Revision (SIR) in different states, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi on Monday said the exercise is not well-intentioned and the way it has deleted crores of voters "is tinkering with democracy".
In an interview with ANI, Quraishi said voting is a constitutional right. He said voting right is not a charity given by the Election Commission.
"I think the entire SIR exercise is not well-intentioned. The way it has deleted crores of voters is tinkering with democracy. You are a citizen of India. I'm a citizen of India. Voting is our constitutional right. Article 326 says, that everyone shall be registered. So it is not a charity from the Election Commission that they will, give you that," he said.
Quraishi said the Election Commission is making "life miserable for the voters".
He said 27 lakh voters were not able to vote during the Bengal polls and it impacted the result.
He also said that the "Supreme Court also let us down" by not coming to the defence of the citizens.
"They are making life miserable for the voters. In Bengal, 27 lakh voters were not able to vote. It has affected the result. Was that the intention? Perhaps it was so. I think the Supreme Court also let us down by not coming to the defence of the citizens of India...later on the Chief Ministers of Bengal, Bihar, Assam are saying if your name is not there on the electoral role, you will lose so many other rights," he said.
Opposition parties have slammed the way the SIR exercise was conducted in several states, including Bihar and Bengal.
They have said that the exercise can affect eligible voters. Election Commission has maintained that the revision is aimed at ensuring accurate and updated electoral rolls.