"Ironic ECI not recognising election card given by them": CPI's Annie Raja on SIR exercise in Bihar

New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): As opposition parties continue to object to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Annie Raja on Friday questioned the poll panel's decision to not include the Election Card, issued by the Commission itself, as one of the accepted documents.
The CPI leader's remarks come after the Supreme Court allowed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to continue its exercise while also asking them to consider accepting certain other documents from voters. Earlier, the poll panel had released a non-exhaustive list of 11 documents which will be accepted by them for voter verification.
"The process which the election commission of India has started actually takes away the rights of the voters of this country and it is very ironic that the election card which was given by the election commission itself is not recognising it as a proof for the residents or proof for the citizenship or whatever may be," the CPI leader said.
The CPI leader said that the exercise being carried out ahead of the assembly elections is actually an exercise in "taking away the rights of people," highlighting how the state has been a BIMARU state, a term used for states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh; who were considered having poor economic performance. She said that because of the economic situation of people, they do not possess their necessary documents required for the SIR.
"So in such a case and the documents which they were asking for to prove that the majority of the people do not have such documents either of graduation certificate or the school certificate or even the parents' birth certificate and all these things," she said.
On the Supreme Court allowing the ECI to continue with their verification exercise, the CPI leader said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is spreading a "false narrative" that they have been given approval for this revision exercise. She mentioned that the top court has not decided on the merits of the case, but instead just on the requirement of submitting verification documents.
As part of the SIR, ECI had asked for: 1. Any ID card/Pension Payment Order issued to govt employees (state, centre and PSUs), 2. Any ID card/certificate/document issued in India by government/local authorities/banks/post office/LIC/PSU's prior to July 1, 1987, 3. Birth certificate, 4. Passport, 5. Matriculation certificate issued by recognised boards or universities, 6. Permeant Residence certificate, 7. Forest Right certificate, 8. National Register of Citizen (wherever existing), 9. Family Register, 10, Any land or house allotment certificate by government, 11. SC/ST/OBC certificate.
Earlier on July 10, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi did not stay the SIR process but asked the ECI to consider allowing Aadhaar, ration cards, and electoral photo identity cards as admissible documents to prove voter identity during the SIR in the state.
"We are of the prima facie opinion that in the interest of justice, the Election Commission will also include documents like Aadhaar, Ration Card, Voter ID card, etc. It is for the ECI to decide whether it wants to accept the documents or not, and if it does not, then provide reasons for its decision, which shall be sufficient to satisfy the petitioners," the bench stated.
Meanwhile, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi welcomed the top court's decision while hitting out at "ECI sources" for misrepresenting the court's order. He criticised the claims made by EC sources that the constitutional body accepts Aadhar as per page 16 of the Special Intensive Revision, while also informing about the EPIC number being "pre-printed" on the enumeration forms being meted out. (ANI)