ECI terms allegations of Muslim voter exclusion in Bihar as 'communal', defends revision process
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday submitted before the Supreme Court that allegations of disproportionate exclusion of Muslim voters from the electoral rolls in Bihar were “communal” and unfounded. The Commission defended the accuracy of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and maintained that the revision process adhered to all legal and procedural standards.
In its affidavit filed before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, the ECI refuted claims made by petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and political activist Yogendra Yadav, who alleged that Muslims were disproportionately removed from the electoral rolls during the revision process.
According to the petitioners, 25% of the 65 lakh voters excluded from the draft roll and 34% of the 3.66 lakh voters ultimately deleted were identified as Muslims, based on name-recognition software. The ECI, however, contested both the methodology and the intent behind such claims.
“The Petitioners have sought to allege disproportionate exclusion of Muslims… This is based on some software for name recognition, whose authenticity, accuracy or appropriateness cannot be commented upon,” the ECI stated in its affidavit. “This communal approach is to be deprecated. Electoral Rolls database does not capture any information on the religion of any elector.”
The ECI also highlighted the limited engagement from political parties and civil society actors during the SIR process, despite opportunities for public participation and correction.
“Finalisation of the electoral roll involves an interplay of all stakeholders. While it is the duty of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to finalise the roll, political parties and electors are equally responsible for ensuring accuracy and inclusiveness,” the affidavit noted.
The Commission pointed out that over 90,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were deployed, and multiple house-to-house (H2H) verification visits were carried out. It added that all directions from the Supreme Court were followed, and data related to inclusions and deletions were uploaded online.
Despite this, the Commission noted that the number of objections and correction applications received was minimal, suggesting that the revision exercise was comprehensive and accurate.
During the hearing, the petitioners requested the Court to direct the ECI to publish the names of those added or deleted from the final voters’ list. The Court took note of the Commission’s assurance that the names would be published and stated that it expected full compliance.
“We have no doubt that they will fulfil their responsibility… They are bound to publish. We are not closing the matter,” the bench observed.
Earlier, the Court had noted discrepancies between Bihar’s adult population and the number of registered voters, citing a 107% mismatch, which led to its approval of the SIR.
The matter remains under judicial consideration.
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UT with dual power structure 'worst form of govt', says Omar Abdullah
Srinagar (PTI): Terming the current administrative structure in Jammu and Kashmir the “worst form of government”, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called for an urgent shift toward full statehood while acknowledging that significant progress has been made in narrowing differences with the Centre over the transaction of business rules.
The chief minister also hit out at vested interests making efforts to create a political wedge between Jammu and Srinagar, saying “they have failed and they will continue to fail”, and highlighted the restoration of the traditional biannual shift of the capital known as ‘Darbar Move’ as a vital bridge in narrowing the emotional divide between the two regions.
Speaking with PTI, Abdullah argued that the logic behind treating a territory with 90 elected legislators on par with smaller regions like Puducherry, which has only 30, remains incomprehensible, and reiterated his earlier stand that a dual power system where two power structures exist is a "recipe for disaster”.
“Can you not see the difference between a tiny one with 30 MLAs and one with 90 MLAs? And you still believe that this current system is beneficial to Jammu and Kashmir after everything that happened last year?” the chief minister asked while referring to the Pahalgham tragedy, pointing out that keeping elected representatives out of the law and order situation was doing no good.
He specifically noted that the size and scale of Jammu and Kashmir demand a governance model where the elected representatives are fully responsible for administration.
“I continue to maintain that view. I continue to believe that a system of Union territory with an assembly is by far the worst form of government that you can come up with,” Abdullah told PTI here recently.
The chief minister highlighted that several key institutions, including universities, the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Power Development Corporation, should have automatically come under the domain of the elected government.
“I am not even arguing on the central services, law and order, and police. As a Union territory, those are automatically within the domain of the unelected government. But these were institutions that were previously the responsibility of the elected government. And they should be,” Abdullah said.
Despite these friction points, Abdullah expressed optimism, stating that his government and the Government of India are close to reaching an agreement on the rules of business and that a formal proposal for the appointment of a new advocate general has finally been dispatched to the appropriate authorities.
“Again, as I said, we have made significant progress on these issues,” he said.
On the long-standing issue of summary dismissals of government employees without judicial inquiry, Abdullah described the process as arbitrary, opaque and unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny.
This practice did not originate with the current lieutenant governor's administration but was initiated during the previous BJP-PDP coalition government, he said.
“Look, everyone has the right to prove their innocence. For some reason, these employees were not given that opportunity. And I have no doubt that going ahead, many of these people will return to government service on the back of relief from the court.
“We will not be able to defend the dismissal of these employees in the courts. It will happen, you mark my words, because the process is arbitrary. The process is opaque. There is no clarity and transparency in the process. Ultimately, we will not be able to bear up to judicial scrutiny," he said.
Referring to the promises made by his party, the National Conference, Abdullah detailed the operationalisation of his poll promises, including 200 units of free electricity and six free cooking gas cylinders for the poorest households, underlining that power subsidy is being provided to the poorest of the poor.
He argued that anyone above the poverty line should pay market rates for electricity to ensure that state resources are prioritised for the most vulnerable.
“Rich people shouldn't even be getting subsidised electricity. If I could, though obviously I can't do it in a single stroke, I would like to remove subsidised electricity from all these rich people.
“Anybody above BPL (Below Poverty Line) should not be paying subsidised rates for electricity. They should pay the market rate,” he said.
Beyond direct welfare, Abdullah highlighted the restoration of the ‘Darbar Move’ and the introduction of free education and bus travel for women as key milestones in his 20-month-old administration.
Speaking on the composite culture of J-K, Abdullah said the traditional biannual shift of the capital has allowed a new generation of employees from Jammu, who had never worked in the Valley before, to bond with their Kashmiri counterparts.
“The distance between Jammu and Kashmir has reduced to a great extent,” Abdullah said, adding that the two regions historically come together during times of adversity, whether after natural disasters or security crises.
Replying to a query on Kashmiri Pandits who migrated to various camps in Jammu, Abdullah said the question needs to be asked of the BJP as to why they are still in camps.
“Please ask the BJP how many more elections do they want to exploit their (Kashmiri Pandits’) votes before actually doing something to bring them back,” Abdullah said.
Terming the migration “deeply unfortunate”, Abdullah said, “We want those who left in the late 80s, early 90s, to come back. I have always maintained that they left because their sense of security was snatched away. They will come back only when that sense of security is restored. And we have not been able to do that so far.”
Crediting former prime minister Manmohan Singh for building the Jagti township in Jammu for migrants and creating a job quota for them, Abdullah said that nothing more has been done for the community since then.
To a question on dynastic politics following the recent defeat of M K Stalin in Tamil Nadu, Abdullah dismissed the idea that the defeat of established leaders is a verdict on their lineage, and argued that belonging to a political family only "opens a door" but does not guarantee a seat at the table.
“What keeps it open is your own performance,” Abdullah said, pointing out that even non-dynastic leaders like Mamata Banerjee faced electoral setbacks.
He also dismissed rumours of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle in J-K as “absolute lies”.
