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Apart from the preparedness for the SIR, other administrative issues are also likely to be discussed, it is learnt (File Photo)
The Election Commission is set to meet the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of States and Union Territories on Wednesday to discuss preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, after which the Commission could take a call on the rollout of the exercise, it is learnt.
Apart from the preparedness for the SIR, other administrative issues are also likely to be discussed, it is learnt. The meeting, to be held at the EC’s India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) at Dwarka on Wednesday afternoon, is the second such meeting in just over a month.
On September 10, the Commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, met the CEOs to assess the preparations for the SIR.
On June 24, the EC had ordered an SIR across the country, starting with Bihar because elections were due in the state. The EC had said it would issue orders for the rest of the states and UTs in due course.
The SIR involved the creation of the electoral rolls afresh, as opposed to the annual and pre-election Special Summary Revision (SSR) that has been the practice for the past two decades.
Under its June 24 order, the EC required all 7.89 crore registered electors of Bihar to submit new enumeration forms by July 25 to be included in the draft roll published on August 1. All those who were added to the rolls after 2003, when the last intensive revision was done in Bihar, were required to submit documents proving their date and/or place of birth, to establish eligibility. All those born after July 1, 1987 were required to submit documents for their parents as well, aligning with the requirements of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The EC had included an indicative list of 11 documents, including Passport, birth certificate and caste certificate, that electors could submit. The more commonly held Aadhaar, Voter ID and ration cards were not included. In Bihar, 65 lakh names were deleted from the rolls in the draft stage and an additional 3.66 lakh in the final.
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The EC’s June 24 order has been challenged in the Supreme Court by a batch of petitions, with critics likening it to the creation of a National Register of Citizens through the backdoor. Through its directions, the Supreme Court asked the EC to consider Aadhaar as the 12th document and to publish the names of those deleted from the rolls, along with the reasons.
At the last meeting with CEOs, the EC had asked officials to map as many electors as possible to the electoral roll of the last intensive revision in their states, so as to reduce the number of electors who will have to submit documents.
Damini Nath is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. She covers the housing and urban affairs and Election Commission beats. She has 11 years of experience as a reporter and sub-editor. Before joining The Indian Express in 2022, she was a reporter with The Hindu’s national bureau covering culture, social justice, housing and urban affairs and the Election Commission. ... Read More
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