New Delhi [India], December 10 : Congress MP Imran Masood on Wednesday flagged the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, alleging it has disenfranchised numerous voters.
He claimed that the most affected are Dalits and Muslims, stressing that incoming reports point to large-scale curtailment of voting rights through the ongoing exercise.
Speaking to ANI, Masood said, "SIR is a very important issue. Through SIR, the voting rights of many people in Bihar have been snatched away. From the kind of reports that are coming in, we feel that votes of many people are being cut, most of which belong to Dalits and Muslims."
Earlier today, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav said that the real culprit causing "mischief" amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was at the district level.
"Collectors and the Election Commission are responsible for conducting SIR, but the real culprits who are causing all the mischief are at the district level. I had told the Election Commission that you can issue any orders, but if the people sitting in Lucknow tell the Collector to cut the votes, no matter how much you say their votes should remain, they will get cut. We cannot just blame the Election Commission. The people connected to the administration who have started working like a party are the ones responsible for diverting these votes here and there," Yadav said.
The SP MP argued that the independence of the judiciary was critical for election reforms while advocating large-scale reforms.
"For electoral reforms, a few things are essential-- the appointment of the Election Commission and the independence of the judiciary. If there is mischief happening, the Supreme Court will say that we will not interfere in the Election Commission's work, even if they show someone alive as dead and vice versa. There is a need for reform on a larger scale," Yadav said.
This comes as Lok Sabha continues discussion on the SIR exercise initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the eighth day of the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
Senior Congress MP Manish Tewari opened the debate yesterday, with Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi extending the discussion from the opposition side, levelling serious accusations that the EC is colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to "shape elections".
Gandhi said that vote theft was an anti-national act.
A total of 10 hours has been earmarked for the entire discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.