The Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is underway in election-bound Bihar, with the ruling JMM calling it an exercise that would “exclude large sections of voters”.
Jharkhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Radhakrishna Kishore moved the proposal in the House, questioning the need to conduct the SIR just ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.
“The unity and integrity of our country remain intact because our parliamentary democratic system is strong. If anyone attempts to weaken this system, it will directly affect our unity and integrity. The Election Commission of India is conducting the SIR to verify voters’ identities, but in the name of SIR, challenges are being raised that will ultimately exclude large sections of voters from marginalised, poor, deprived, and illiterate groups,” Kishore said.
“This is being done to directly benefit those in power at the Centre,” he said.
He argued that the process adopted under SIR would weaken the democratic framework of the country. “Therefore, the INDIA alliance, under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, stands united to protect democracy and has passed this resolution,” he said.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi strongly opposed the move. Responding in the House, he said the minister highlighted the problem but failed to provide any solution, raising doubts about whose interests the ruling party sought to protect.
Backing the Election Commission, Marandi said it consults all political parties before carrying out exercises such as the SIR and takes their suggestions into account. “It is difficult to understand what the Congress party is trying to achieve by opposing the SIR,” he remarked.
Alleging a political conspiracy, Marandi further claimed, “The state’s demography is changing, especially in the Santhal Pargana region, and the government is attempting to include Bangladeshis and Rohingyas as voters. This is their conspiracy.”
Despite the opposition, the proposal was adopted in the Assembly. The resolution, saying that the SIR should not be carried out in Jharkhand, was passed by a voice vote.
Earlier in the day, before the proceedings began, Opposition members staged a protest at the gate of the Assembly. As soon as the session started, chaos broke out inside the House, with members from both sides rushing to the Well. The uproar continued for nearly three minutes, after which the Speaker adjourned proceedings till noon.
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