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New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput on Friday reacted to the hearing in the Supreme Court on the Kerala government’s plea seeking postponement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGI) elections, saying, “We respect the judiciary and we will wait for its decision.”
Speaking to IANS, he said, “There will be a hearing and we will wait for it. We are people who respect the judiciary and the Constitution of the country. Whatever decision comes after the hearing, we will issue our statement accordingly.”
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday a petition seeking postponement of the SIR exercise in view of the approaching local body elections in Kerala.
On Wednesday, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai agreed to list the petition after the lawyer informed the court that the SIR process is currently going on despite elections being held in the second week of December.
After the Kerala High Court last week refused to entertain a writ petition seeking postponement of the SIR process, the Kerala government itself filed a petition under Article 32. The state has cited severe manpower constraints and argued that holding the SIR simultaneously with the elections would lead to “administrative impasse”.
According to the petition, more than 1,76,000 government and semi-government personnel and 68,000 security personnel are required for the local body elections. However, the SIR requires an additional 25,668 officials, many of whom are drawn from the same limited pool of trained election staff, raising concerns about overstretch and potential disruption in election management.
The petition also highlighted the statutory deadlines under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, insisting that the elections must be completed before December 21, 2025.
The government emphasized that conducting SIR along with elections may put pressure on the administration and adversely affect the smooth conduct of elections.
Rajput’s statement reflects the Congress party’s position of respecting the judicial process, while the state government wants clarity on the feasibility of running both the exercises simultaneously.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday will determine whether the SIR program can proceed or the electoral vetting will be postponed to ensure the uninterrupted conduct of LSGI elections.
–IANS
RS/RAD