"SIR is very important for sanctity in politics": Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi

Gayaji (Bihar) [India], October 27 (ANI): Ahead of the Election Commission of India's press conference on Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday said that the conduct of SIR is important to maintain political sanctity as it will bring transparency in the voter list.
"We have been demanding countrywide SIR because it will bring transparency. For sanctity in politics, SIR is very important," Manjhi told ANI.
Janata Dal (United) leader Neeraj Kumar on Monday explained the need to update the electoral rolls, citing duplicate and deceased names on the voter list.
Kumar stated that the Congress party has been opposing the procedure; however, it was not accepted by the judiciary. He noted that Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body and has the authority to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
"It is necessary to update the voters who have duplicate entries or are deceased. In this regard, the Congress party made political objections to the SIR. But the judiciary did not accept it. So the Election Commission is a constitutional body, and it has the authority to conduct the SIR," Neeraj Kumar told ANI.
The Election Commission has scheduled a press conference for 4.15 pm today to address the details of the nationwide SIR. Earlier, on October 6, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had announced that the revision of voter lists would be conducted across the country.
On Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to finalise their preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter lists in their respective States and Union Territories, a press release by the ECI said.
The ECI's two-day Conference of CEOs on SIR preparedness concluded at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi.
According to the press release, the Commission assessed the progress made on the directions previously issued to the CEOs to map the current electors with the electors as per the last SIR in their respective States and UTs.
The ECI also interacted one-on-one with the CEOs of poll-bound States and UTs, including Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal.
Queries raised by the CEOs were also clarified after the presentations by senior officers of the Commission on the SIR process.
The conference was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the press release said.
CEOs of the States and UTs from across the country attended the Conference.
Queries raised by the CEOs were also clarified after the presentations by senior officers of the Commission on the SIR process.
The conference was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the press release said. (ANI)