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New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday refuted allegations in the Supreme Court that a large number of names were removed from the final voter list after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, countered that the affidavits relied upon by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), were false.
Dwivedi told a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi that many of the persons who claimed to have been “deleted” were never part of the draft list as they had not submitted their enumeration forms.
The election body said that a “false” affidavit was filed, which amounts to perjury, and clarified that the person concerned had never been included in the draft list, adding that the person had failed to submit the required counting forms, due to which he was excluded from the final list. On this, the bench led by Justice Kant expressed displeasure with Bhushan for filing the affidavit without proper verification.
“We do not appreciate that the person should have disclosed the correct information,” the apex court remarked. Bhushan attempted to defend his position by saying that there were affidavits from 20 other persons in a similar situation, and it was not possible to verify their authenticity.
However, the top court said, “After our experience with this affidavit, we do not know how authentic the others will be!” It said it was the responsibility of the ADR to ensure the veracity of such affidavits before they were submitted to the top court.
In its order, the bench led by Justice Kant requested the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BSLSA) to communicate with the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to ensure availability of paralegal volunteers and legal aid lawyers who can assist the persons removed from the electoral rolls in filing appeals.
With the window for filing appeals still open for the next five days, the ECI assured the Supreme Court that the appeals received will be resolved promptly.
“DLSA should publicize the contact details of these volunteers in the villages, coordinate with the booth level officers (BLOs) and ensure that all eligible citizens are informed about their rights,” the top court asked BSLSA to file a status report within a week.
Earlier in the day, the ECI informed the Supreme Court that it is conscious of its responsibility to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the voter list. “The Commission is conscious of its responsibilities to ensure that the purity and integrity of the electoral roll is maintained and only eligible persons as per Article 326, i.e. above 18 years of age and citizens of India and fulfilling the residence requirement, are enrolled in the electoral roll,” the election body said in an affidavit.
The reply was filed by the Deputy Election Commissioner in response to an application seeking directions “to ensure that only Indian citizens decide the politics and policy of the country and not illegal Pakistani, Afghani, Rohingya, Bangladeshi infiltrators.”
The ECI reiterated that Aadhaar card can be accepted as a valid proof of identity for inclusion or exclusion in the electoral roll, but not as proof of citizenship.
Meanwhile, the ECI has announced that Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with the counting of votes taking place on November 14.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar described the upcoming Bihar elections as the “mother of all elections”, highlighting the extensive preparations made to ensure peaceful and transparent polling.
The CEC, along with fellow election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, said, “We want to assure the voters of Bihar that the elections will not only be smooth and fair, but will also be the most peaceful elections ever with special focus on law and order.”
This year’s election is the first major electoral exercise in Bihar after the SIR-driven purge of the state’s voter list.
–IANS
PDS/UK