The Election Commission (ECI) will hold a press conference at the National Media Center in New Delhi at 3 pm on Sunday, amid the continuous opposition from opposition parties over the allegations of ‘vote theft’ made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and special intensive revision of the voter list in Bihar. This will be the first press conference of the Election Commission after the special intensive revision (SIR) process starts in Bihar.
It is unusual to organize a press conference on any issue other than the announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission officials. The ECI has not yet clarified the theme of its press conference, although sources said that it could be related to the allegations leveled by the opposition parties against the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of rigging in voting data and said that ‘vote theft’ was done to win the BJP in the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana and the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.
The Election Commission has asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to present the names of those who claim that they have been incorrectly linked or removed in the voter list, as well as to present the signed manifesto. The Commission has even said that if the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha fails to give an affidavit signed in support of their allegations, then they should apologize for misleading the country.
Also read: Election Commission will make public the names of 65 lakh voters removed from Bihar voter list, people will be able to check their records sitting at home
Opposition parties protesting SIR in Bihar
The Election Commission has started a special intensive revision (SIR) of the state’s voter list four months before the Bihar assembly elections, which the opposition parties are opposing. Questions raised about this decision have now become a topic of discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament and the matter has reached the Supreme Court. The Election Commission says that the sole purpose of SIR is to include the name of every eligible citizen in the voter list and to remove the names of all suspicious or ineligible persons. ‘
Opposition parties claim that this move of the Election Commission will deprive crores of eligible citizens of the franchise in the absence of documents. The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission to publish the details of 65 lakh names removed from the voter list, with the reasons for not including them, for which the Commission has agreed. The Commission had uploaded the first draft of the revised voter list on its website on 1 August, so that the people of Bihar can search their names.
Also read: Election Commission gave notice to Muzaffarpur Mayor Nirmala Devi, sought answer on 2 voter ID, action on Tejashwi’s claim
Names can be added in Bihar till 30 September
If the name of a eligible voter is out of the voter list, then the Election Commission has given him a chance till September 30 to get his name added. The final voter list will be published on 1 October. Under the special intensive revision process released in Bihar, the booth level officer appointed by the Election Commission is going door-to-door, verifying the voter list and then the new voter list is being prepared after the amendment.
During this time, BLOs go to every house and enter the details of eligible voters in the prescribed form and along with that of the 11 documents recognized by the Commission, put one of the documents with that form. This process is implemented when the Election Commission of India (ECI) feels that the existing voter lists either have serious flaws or need a review. This process is usually performed before a major election or after administrative processes like re-demarcation of constituencies.
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