New Delhi: The Congress party and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Thursday opposed the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar, questioning the intent behind the exercise announced on 24 June.
While the Congress stated that there are enough reasons to be suspicious of the EC’s plan, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee called it “dangerous” and “alarming for democracy”.
In a statement, the Congress’s Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts—formed by the party in February to “monitor the conduct of free and fair elections by the Election Commission of India”—said the proposed revision was a “devious and dubious idea in the disguise of a solution”.
“Lakhs of Union and state government officials will now control and dictate who has correct documents and who doesn’t, who gets to vote in the upcoming Bihar elections etc. This carries a huge risk of willful exclusion of voters using the power of the state machinery,” stated the Congress.
Both the parties objected to the documentation process that people will have to go through to prove their eligibility to vote. According to the EC’s plan, those born between 1 July, 1987, and 2 December, 2004, will have to provide documents establishing the date of birth and/or place of birth of father or mother.
Those born after 2 December, 2004, will have to establish the same for both parents. It will not be required for those born before 1 July, 1987. The EC cited factors such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, inclusion of names of foreign illegal immigrants as the reason behind its move.
The Congress said the announcement itself was an “admission” that “all is not well” with India’s electoral rolls, an issue which it has been raising aggressively since its defeat in the Maharashtra assembly polls. However, the cure devised by the EC was worse than the disease, according to the party.
“The EC had mooted a proposal on 8 March, 2025, for electoral roll cleaning using Aadhaar, which while not perfect, is a more viable alternative solution than an SIR in Bihar. Why did the EC abandon that to suddenly announce an SIR 3 months after the Aadhaar proposal?
“Given the EC’s dogged resistance to the Congress party’s long pending demand for Maharashtra electoral rolls and its dubious actions in the past, there is enough reason to be suspect about EC’s plans for an SIR in Bihar just a few months before an election. The Congress party firmly opposes the SIR,” it said.
Interacting with reporters in Digha in West Bengal, Banerjee said the EC cannot undertake such an exercise without consulting the recognised state and national parties.
She suggested that it could be an attempt to revive plans for the creation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“How will poor people get documents? Are they doing this to establish the NRC? What is their intention? Please clarify. What is happening in this country? You are targeting people born between 1987 and 2004, which means those aged between 21 and 37-38. Will everyone have their parents’ birth certificates? Nowadays, people have birth certificates, but that was not the case before,” she said.
“Modiji is the prime minister, I respect the chair. But the ECI is linked to (Home Minister) Amit Shah. He is running the country. But they cannot do anything. I am here to expose their plan. This is serious and we have to counter it. Through the media, I want to make people alert. I will request the other Opposition-ruled States to bowl, while we have already started batting,” Banerjee said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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