1 hr ago
Former election commissioner urges EC to scrap third SIR phase
Former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa says India’s Election Commission should explain how it made important voter-list decisions.
He wants the third phase of a voter-roll checking exercise called SIR to be stopped.
He also wants officials to use the voter lists from before SIR.
Reports said two election commissioners had objected to some decisions.
Lavasa wants the EC to explain what happened to those objections.
He questioned why more than 16 lakh appeals against voter inclusion were filed in Bengal.
He also criticized new requirements for registering voters and delays in adding 97 eligible Goa voters.
The EC says the Supreme Court upheld a declaration connected to Form 6, while legal experts cited in the article say that ruling did not address the later online-form change.
Ashok Lavasa urged the Election Commission to disclose full facts about its functioning and the Special Intensive Revision.
Lavasa called for the third SIR phase to be scrapped and for authorities to return to pre-SIR electoral rolls.
He questioned objections reportedly raised by election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over key SIR decisions.
Lavasa asked the EC to explain appeals involving more than 16 lakh voter inclusions in Bengal and the deletion of about 27 lakh voters.
He also criticized changes to Form 6 and delays involving 97 eligible voters in Goa.
- Who
- Former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa, the Election Commission of India, and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi are central to the report.
- What
- Lavasa called for full disclosure about the EC’s decisions, cancellation of the third SIR phase, and a return to pre-SIR electoral rolls.
- Where
- The issues concern India, including Bengal and Goa, with references to the Bihar SIR and the Supreme Court.
- When
- The report discusses developments during and after the SIR, including an EC reply dated September 16 and a media announcement on Saturday; the year is not specified.
- Why
- Lavasa said the SIR had flaws and raised unanswered questions about dissent, voter appeals, Form 6 changes, and delays in adding eligible voters.
Critics and transparency demands
Election Commission position
Disclosure and internal disagreement
Critics and transparency demands
Ashok Lavasa and opposition parties want the EC to disclose how objections by Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were examined and resolved, and to establish accountability if anything illegal occurred.
Election Commission position
The EC has issued statements and released a photograph of the chief election commissioner with the other commissioners, along with measures intended to reassure voters, but the article does not provide a detailed public response to each objection.
Third SIR phase
Critics and transparency demands
Lavasa says the third phase has flaws, is unnecessary, and should be scrapped, with authorities returning to pre-SIR electoral rolls.
Election Commission position
The EC is continuing the SIR process; the article does not quote the commission directly defending the necessity of the third phase.
Form 6 changes
Critics and transparency demands
Lavasa and legal experts say the EC could not independently change Form 6 and that the Supreme Court ruling cited by the EC did not address the later July change requiring parents’ previous-SIR details.
Election Commission position
The EC says the Supreme Court upheld the declaration attached to Form 6 during the Bihar SIR.
Key facts
- Main critic
- Former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa
- Requested action
- Scrap the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision and return to pre-SIR electoral rolls
- Bengal appeals
- The EC said 38,31,249 appeals were filed; around 22 lakh concerned deleted or excluded voters and slightly more than 16 lakh opposed inclusions
- Bengal deletions
- About 27 lakh of approximately 60 lakh voters marked with a “logical discrepancy” were deleted
- Form 6
- The form is used to register new voters; its online version was changed in July to require parents’ details from the previous SIR
- Goa voters
- Lavasa said 97 voters found eligible by Electoral Registration Officers had not been included since February
- EC response
- The Election Commission said the Supreme Court had upheld the Form 6 declaration; legal experts cited in the report disputed the scope of that ruling
Quotes
Ashok Lavasa
Former election commissioner of India
“What happened to these letters? Were these examined? How were these disposed? What final decisions were taken? The EC must come out with full facts. If anything illegal was done, accountability should be fixed and necessary steps taken”
telegraphindia.com
“Once a voter is found eligible under Article 326 [which deals with the right to vote], whether the voter’s parents or grandparents were voters has nothing to do with his/her voting right”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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