Leaders of Congress and other Opposition parties, including the TMC, DMK and RJD, have been vehemently opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (EC). They are doing so despite the fact that the EC is mandated by the Constitution and laws to revise and update electoral rolls periodically. Some of these parties have even moved the Supreme Court in order to stop the exercise.
These parties had opposed the SIR in Bihar but failed to get a favourable response from the apex court. Eventually, only a negligible number of voters came forward to lodge a complaint about unlawful deletions.
The SIR must be carried out to remove the names of all those who are dead, have moved house or have illegally entered the voters’ list. This exercise is a necessity if one wishes to ensure the purity of the democratic process.
If the Election Commission of India fails in its duty, the floodgates will open for illegal immigrants and infiltrators to smuggle themselves onto our electoral rolls. This poses a grave danger to the integrity of our democratic process.
This is an issue that also has serious implications for governance. Every voter who is above the age of 25 is eligible to be an MLA or an MP and can even become the chief minister of a state or the prime minister of the country. Therefore, the Election Commission has a major responsibility to ensure that non-citizens do not become voters.
The powers of the Election Commission of India have been clearly laid out in the Constitution. Article 324 of the Constitution states: “(1) The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the Legislature of every State and of elections to the offices of President and Vice-President held under this Constitution shall be vested in a Commission (referred to in this Constitution as the Election Commission).”
Regarding the preparation of electoral rolls, Article 326 of the Constitution declares that the elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; “that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election”.
Further, this stipulation regarding citizenship has been reinforced by Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which says “every person who is not a citizen of India is not eligible to be registered as a voter”. Section 21 empowers the Election Commission to prepare and revise electoral rolls in the prescribed manner.
Thus, both the Constitution and the election law made by Parliament have explicitly stated that only citizens can be enrolled as voters.
It seems absurd to say, then, that the Election Commission should not insist on this qualification. Sadly, however, even spokespersons of India’s oldest party are ignorant of these constitutional and legal provisions. One of them tweeted some time ago, challenging the EC’s right to enquire into citizenship. Then, should Articles 324 and 326 of the Constitution stand deleted?
The last intensive revision was carried out over two decades ago, between 2002 and 2004. Such a revision was done at that time in Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to name a few states. Just imagine the number of persons on those rolls who would have died over the last 22 years, or moved house or even moved out of the state?
The EC must carry out the responsibility given to it by the Constitution and the laws made by Parliament. The commission must remain loyal to the Constitution. It should not be rattled by such threats and abuse.
The writer was chairman, Prasar Bharati. He is currently vice-chairman of the Executive Council for the Prime Ministers Museum and Library, Delhi
