The Election Commission has denied the allegations made by the Congress, saying that the process of cutting the name from the voter list is completely legal and as per rules. In the press conference, the Commission clarified that the District Congress Committee presidents in Bihar have written letters to the District Election Officers to remove the names of about 89 lakh people from the voter list in the last one or two days, but this process violates the rules.
According to the Commission, the objection to cutting the name under Rule 13 of the Electoral Registration Rules, 1960 can only be given in the prescribed form, not through the letter. In addition, booth level agents- who are appointed by political parties- have the right to submit objections in the prescribed form with the oath under Section 31 of the Public Representation Act, 1950. The Commission insisted that no name can be deducted from the list without verification and fixed process.
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In this context, the Commission cited the Supreme Court’s interim order of August 22, 2025, in which 12 political parties were instructed to submit information about wrong names in the draft voter list only in the prescribed format. The Commission said that the objections given by the District Committee Presidents of the Congress Party are not in the prescribed form, due to which the District Election Officer is forwarding these objections to the concerned election registration officers for appropriate action.
The Commission further said that before starting the process of cutting the names of about 69 lakh voters, Election Registration Officers will be sought from the chairman of the District Congress Committee in the prescribed format with the oath under Rule 20 (13) of the Election Registration Rules, 1960. Only after this process, proper and prudent decision will be taken on cutting the names of about 89 lakh voters. The Commission insisted that it is its priority to ensure that there is no irregularity in the voter list and the process should be completely transparent.
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