Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of succumbing to pressure in meeting representatives of the INDIA bloc over the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the state elections.
The veteran parliamentarian criticised the Commission for initially denying the delegation’s request and later restricting participation to only two members per party, calling the approach “arbitrary” and detrimental to democracy.
“Yesterday evening, the delegation of the INDIA bloc met with the Election Commission regarding the special voter intensive revision (‘SIR’) in Bihar. Initially, the Commission had refused to meet, but ultimately, under pressure, the delegation was called,” Ramesh posted on X.
He added that due to the restriction on party representation, several leaders, including himself, were denied a meeting with ECI officials. “The Commission arbitrarily allowed only two representatives from each party, due to which many of us could not meet with the Commission. I myself sat in the waiting room for almost two hours.”
Calling the poll panel’s conduct “consistently worrying” over the last six months, Ramesh asserted that “the Commission’s attitude has consistently been such that it weakens the basic structure of our democracy.”
Also read: Only eligible citizens can be listed in electoral roll: EC
He underlined that as a constitutional body, the ECI “cannot regularly reject requests for hearings from the opposition” and must uphold “the spirit of the Constitution”.
Ramesh further warned against what he described as unilateral functioning by the poll body. “The Election Commission cannot make arbitrary rules for engaging with political parties, such as the number of representatives, their positions, or deciding who is authorised and who is not.”
He claimed that when the delegation challenged these procedural changes, the Commission responded: “This is the new Commission.”
“This answer deepens our concern, what will be the next move of this ‘new’ Commission? Just as the ‘demonetisation’ of November 2016 dealt a severe blow to our economy, similarly, this ‘voter suppression’, which is emerging in the form of SIR in Bihar and other states, will destroy our democracy,” the Congress MP warned.
The INDIA bloc has raised red flags over the timing and method of the special revision exercise, alleging it could be a move aimed at electoral exclusion in key states.
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