NEW DELHI, AUG 17 : The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday pushed back against allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls, with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar asserting that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar was being conducted in a transparent and legally mandated manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing a press conference at the National Media Centre in New Delhi\u2014its first media interaction since the launch of the SIR in Bihar\u2014Kumar stressed that the credibility of the voter list and the poll body stood intact. The briefing also came in the wake of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi\u2019s recent charge of \u201cvote theft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll political parties are born through registration with the Election Commission. Then how can the Election Commission discriminate among them? For the Commission, all are equal\u2026 No matter which party one belongs to, we will not step back from our constitutional duty,\u201d Kumar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed out that voters, political parties and booth-level officers (BLOs) had verified and signed documents during the SIR, even submitting video testimonials. These, he claimed, were being ignored by some party leaders to \u201cspread confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen more than seven crore voters of Bihar are standing with the Election Commission, then neither can any question mark be raised on its credibility nor on the credibility of the voters,\u201d Kumar asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking exception to voter photographs being circulated in the media without consent, the CEC said, \u201cShould the Election Commission share CCTV videos of any voter, including their mothers, daughters-in-law, daughters?\u201d His remarks came days after Rahul Gandhi released voter documents to back his \u201cvote chori\u201d allegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defending the electoral process, Kumar cited the scale of operations during polls. \u201cMore than one crore employees, over 10 lakh booth-level agents, and 20 lakh polling agents are involved in elections. In such a transparent process, can any voter steal votes?\u201d he asked. He also dismissed double-voting allegations, saying no proof had been provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kumar further reminded that election results could legally be challenged in the Supreme Court within 45 days. \u201cAfter this period, making such baseless allegations\u2026 the people of the country understand the intention behind them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the demand for machine-readable voter lists, the CEC referred to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling, which found such lists could violate voter privacy. \u201cWe must understand the difference between a machine-readable voter list and a searchable voter list. What is available on the ECI website today is searchable, not machine-readable,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explaining the SIR exercise, Kumar said it had been carried out over 10 times in India but not in the last two decades. Its purpose, he said, was to \u201cpurify the voter list\u201d amid complaints of duplication. While lakhs of duplicate EPICs were corrected earlier this year, he acknowledged that migration prior to 2003 had led to multiple names for the same voter. \u201cIf deletions are done in a hurry, errors can occur. The Commission stands like a rock with the voters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rejecting claims that the revision was being rushed, Kumar said the Representation of the People Act mandates corrections before every election. \u201cThe work in Bihar started on June 24 and was completed by about July 20,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Importantly, he urged all political parties to flag errors in the draft rolls before the September 1 deadline. \u201cAfter August 1, when our daily bulletins started coming, no political party has lodged a single objection till now. This can only mean two things\u2014either the draft list is completely correct, or parties have not done their homework,\u201d Kumar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI appeal through you that all 12 recognised parties, whether national or state-level, should point out mistakes before September 1. The Commission is ready to correct them. But if similar allegations are raised after September 1, then who is responsible?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On future plans, Kumar said the three Election Commissioners would decide when the SIR exercise would be extended to West Bengal or other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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