SC asks EC to extend deadline for Kerala voter roll objections

The Supreme Court of India has asked the Election Commission to think about extending the deadline for people to object to names being removed from Kerala's voter list.

This is because many people are finding it hard to see who has been taken off the list.

The court also said the list of people who have been removed should be put up in public places and on the Election Commission's website.

Right now, people can object to these removals until January 22, and the final list will be ready by February 21.

In Kerala, about 24 lakh names have been removed from a total of 2.7 crore voters.

The court is hearing some cases about this voter list update in several states, including Kerala and Bihar.

In Bihar, about 47 lakh voters were removed from the list before their recent elections.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission rejected a proposal from West Bengal to accept class 10 (madhyamik) admit cards as valid documents for verification during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Rajasthan Congress has accused the ruling BJP of manipulating voter lists by deleting thousands of voters' names, alleging large-scale irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

They claim the BJP submitted thousands of bulk, pre-printed applications overnight, which they say is a direct attack on democracy and the fundamental right to vote.