Exclusive: After Bihar SIR row, EC plans to consult political parties before rolling out pan-India electoral roll exercise

Although the EC is yet to decide on the timing of the nationwide SIR, it is learnt that if and when the exercise is held, CEOs could hold meetings with political parties. In the case of Bihar, the EC ordered the SIR on June 24 and the enumeration period started the very next day, without any consultation with parties.

In preparation for the SIR, the EC held a conference with CEOs in New Delhi on September 10. “The Commission assessed the preparedness of offices of the CEOs of all States/UTs for the nationwide SIR exercise. A presentation on the strategies, constraints and best practices adopted was made by the CEO Bihar so that the CEOs of the rest of the country learn from their experiences,” an EC statement had said that day.

The EC’s decision to conduct the SIR has been challenged through a batch of petitions in the Supreme Court. Petitioners, which includes Opposition MPs, have challenged the legality of the order. The Opposition has questioned the EC’s authority to conduct a check of citizenship of electors, calling the SIR exercise an attempt to create a National Register of Citizens through the “back door”.

The EC has argued that it is empowered to establish the citizenship of electors as per Article 326, which says that only Indian citizens have the right to be enrolled as electors. In its counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court, the EC had said that “determination of non-eligibility of anyone under Article 326 will not lead to cancellation of citizenship”.

For Bihar, the EC order required all 7.89 crore registered electors in the state to fill enumeration forms by July 25 to remain on the draft roll. Through this exercise, 65 lakh names were deleted from the rolls, with the Booth Level Officers marking these electors as either deceased, or permanently shifted, or enrolled at multiple places or untraceable. The number of deletions is likely to increase in the final roll as all those registered after January 1, 2003, when the last intensive revision was done in the state, were required to submit documents establishing their date and/or place of birth. All those born after July 1, 1987 to December 2, 2004 were required to submit documents of date and/or place of birth of one parent, apart from their own. Those born after December 2, 2004, are required to submit documents of date and/or place of birth of both parents, as well as their own. These requirements align with the Citizenship Act, 1955.

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