Chidambaram reiterates CWC demands on SIR, seeks restoration of deleted voter names
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Wednesday said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had identified several flaws in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reiterated the three demands raised by the party.
In a statement, Chidambaram said, “Yesterday, the CWC identified the various flaws in the SIR and rightly made three demands.”
He listed the demands as the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the SIR exercise and restoration of 13.30 crore names that he claimed had been removed from electoral rolls.
“The BJP’s response to the CWC resolution and its defence of the CEC are pathetic,” Chidambaram said.
He said there was no objection to removing the names of deceased voters from electoral rolls, but questioned the removal of names on other grounds.
“Nobody wants dead voters to remain on the rolls. They can be removed through the usual annual revision on January 1. But what about names removed on the specious grounds of being unable to fill Form 6, ‘not found at the address’ or ‘logical discrepancy’?” he added.
Chidambaram also questioned the scale of the deletions, saying, “The BJP must explain how 14 per cent of the adult population of India has been removed from the rolls in 20 states under SIR.”
He further cited the outcome of appeals in West Bengal and said the BJP should explain how 91 per cent of appeals against the removal of names were allowed by judges, resulting in the restoration of the names of those affected.
Chidambaram also referred to a question raised by Anjali Bhargava of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), asking where the file containing the original decision to conduct the SIR was.
“There are many more questions. I am sure the entire SIR exercise will unravel in the next few weeks or months,” he said.
Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc is scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday, a day after the CWC adopted a resolution seeking Kumar’s resignation, suspension of the SIR exercise and restoration of voters whose names were allegedly removed from electoral rolls.
Congress leaders are expected to raise the issues discussed during the CWC meeting before the broader Opposition alliance.
The meeting comes amid differences among Opposition parties over strategy and coordination. The INDIA bloc has faced setbacks in several states since its formation, while JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who was earlier associated with the Opposition alliance, is now aligned with the BJP-led NDA.
The meeting is expected to focus on the Election Commission controversy and discussions on a joint political strategy.