Bihar Survey Finds Many Voters From Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar: Sources

The door-to-door survey part of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's voter lists has found that many people originally from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar are currently living in the poll-bound state, sources in the poll body have said.

The sources have said these people managed to obtain Indian documents such as Aadhaar, domicile certificates and ration cards in their name, apparently through illegal channels.

Block Level Officers going house to house for the survey have identified many such individuals, and these cases will be probed in detail between August 1 and August 30. If the allegations are proved, the names of these voters will be struck off the voter list, the sources said.

The development is likely to stoke further the raging debate in the poll-bound state over the ongoing revision of voter rolls months ahead of the Assembly election.

Launched on June 24, the Special Intensive Revision aims to add the names of eligible citizens to the voter list and weed out ineligible voters. The last such revision for Bihar was carried out in 2003. The Election Commission has said multiple reasons, such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and the inclusion of names of foreign illegal immigrants, have made this revision necessary.

The Opposition has raised questions on the timing of the exercise and said it won't be completed in time for the polls. The RJD and the Congress have also alleged that the Special Intensive Revision was a conspiracy aimed at the willful exclusion of voters. The BJP and hit back and questioned why the Opposition was pained if genuine voters were being verified and fake voters removed.

The matter has reached the Supreme Court. Multiple petitions challenging the poll body's revision of voter lists have been filed. The petitioners are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, poll watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms, rights body People's Union for Civil Liberties, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and former MLA Mujahid Alam.

In the top court hearing on Thursday, key questions about the timing of the exercise and the accepted documents came up. After the Election Commission contended that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, the court said Aadhaar, ration cards, and an identity card issued by the Election Commission should be considered valid documents to re-verify voters' identities. The court has not paused the exercise.

The court said it had "serious doubts" that the poll body can complete the task - without excluding genuine voters and allowing individuals the right to appeal - in time for the election.

"Your exercise is not the problem... it is the timing. We have serious doubts if you can manage this exercise. With such a big population (an estimated eight crore people) being subject to this 'intensive review', is it possible to link this to the forthcoming election?" the court asked. "... a person will be disenfranchised ahead of the election and s/he won't have the time to defend the exclusion before voting," the court said. "There is nothing wrong in this intensive process so non-citizen do not remain on rolls... but it should be de hors (i.e., conducted separately from) this election," it added.