- The panel has said voters in Bihar can be verified even without mandatory documents
- Electoral Registrar Officers may verify voters through local investigation if documents are missing
- The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has been criticised by the opposition
In a major decision following scathing criticism by opposition parties, the Election Commission has said voters can get verified in the electoral rolls as part of the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar even without submitting the mandatory documents. If the documents are not given, the Electoral Registrar Officer will carry out verification based on investigation at the local level.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which is being carried out months ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, has been criticised by the opposition, which has said crores of voters risk being left out and even termed the exercise a "conspiracy" to ensure the BJP wins. One of the key sticking points for the opposition is the fact that the Election Commission (EC) made submitting at least one of 11 documents a must for verification.
The documents being accepted include birth certificates, passports, identity cards or pension payment orders issued to government employees or pensioners, permanent residence certificates, forest right certificates, caste certificates, family register prepared by state and local authorities, and land or house allotment certificates issued by the government. Aadhaar is not part of the list.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav had told NDTV earlier this week that, according to the Government of India, only two to three per cent of people have these documents. "This is clearly a conspiracy to remove crores of people from the voter list... The Constitution has given everyone the right to vote," he had said.
His views have been echoed by other opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, and the Left parties.
Verification Process
In a poster on the enumeration forms, the Election Commission has now said that the Electoral Registration Officer can take a decision on verification for the rolls even without the documents being submitted.
"If the necessary documents and photo are not available, then just fill the enumeration form and provide it to the Booth Level Officer," the poster says.
It adds, crucially, that, "If you are unable to provide the necessary documents, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) can take a decision on the basis of local investigation or evidence of other documents."
Sources in the Election Commission said the EROs will go to the spot and meet the voters who have not submitted documents. They will ensure that the person filling the form is 18 years old, get information about their residence period, talk to people living in the area and decide on the basis of available evidence and other documents.
According to data from the Election Department, 1.21 crore voters in Bihar have filled and submitted enumeration forms so far. Of these, 23.9 lakh have been uploaded.
The forms are supposed to be submitted by July 25.
The Election Commission had earlier made it clear that 4.96 crore voters - accounting for 60 per cent of total electors - who were listed in the 2003 special intensive revision need not submit any supporting document.
The poll body has also maintained that the exercise is being conducted in a transparent manner and "every eligible citizen will be a part" of the voters' list.
