SIR violates promise made by Constituent Assembly
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been criticized for violating the promise made by the Constituent Assembly. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reportedly excluded 13 crore citizens from existing electoral rolls in Delhi and Maharashtra alone. This exclusion contradicts the Constitution's vision of adult suffrage and is based on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds.
The Constitution's framers gave citizens the right to vote, and voting is not merely a statutory right. The Representation of the People Act, 1950, provides for the qualification of voters and the preparation of the electoral roll by the ECI. However, the SIR has led to the exclusion of these citizens without proper justification.
The exclusion has had a real impact on their entitlements, such as passports, ration cards, and other benefits. The Constitution's framers expressed concern over the fairness and impartiality of the electoral process. Despite this, the Supreme Court endorsed the SIR in its May 27 decision, leaving citizens to fend for themselves.
The Constituent Assembly's decision on June 15 and 16, 1949, also demonstrated the unconstitutionality of the SIR.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
