SIR is a war on have-nots, says activist

The Election Commission of India’s Systematic Intensive Revision is a war on the have-nots by the Narendra Modi Sarkar,’ Shiv Sundar, activist and writer, said here on Saturday.

Speaking at a workshop on SIR organised by May Sahitya Mela, Manava Bandhutva Vedike, DSS and other associations here on Saturday, he said the Union government was utilising the Election Commission to force SIR on legitimate citizens only to take away their rights. It was taking away our citizenship by way of small and silent steps. But the victims were not able to defend themselves as the process is complex and the documents sought by the government were not easily obtainable by the poor people. It is in this way that SIR has become an FIR on the 140 crore Indians, he said.

“A lot of people believe that SIR is an exercise to rectify errors in electoral rolls like removing names of dead voters and adding new voters. However, the whole exercise is aimed at excluding voters, using some excuses. What is sad, however, is that major Opposition parties like the Congress do not seem worried about it. We have to get to the streets and lead a mass movement,” he said.

He said that the ECI was implementing rules in a discretionary manner, with some rules in one State and a completely different set of rules in other States.

“The Union Budget has set aside ₹6,000 crore for National Population Register. SIR will lead to NPR , which, in turn, will lead to the National Register of Citizens. All this goes to show that the SIR is the first step towards a series of moves that will bleed the liberal secular republic into a lifeless body politic. The government had move away from NRC and CAA after nationwide protests. But now, it is using this opportunity for introducing such destructive tools openly through SIR,” he alleged.

“The names of nearly seven crore voters have been left out of electoral rolls in the first round of SIR that is going on in 11 States. It is easily estimated that around 20 to 25 crore voters will be eliminated by the time SIR ends. By reducing the number of citizens by a large proportion, the government wants to wash its responsibility of providing food, clothing and other amenities and a life of dignity,” Mr. Sundar said.

D.B. Gawani, retired professor introduced the topic. He said that the BJP-ed NDA government was undermining all the progress achieved by the Constitution that was based on liberal, secular and progressive values. “One of the fundamental principles of Indian democracy is One Person, One Vote. This was guaranteed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. But SIR is aimed at undermining this principle,” Mr. Gawani alleged.

Writer Sarala Satpute, Mehboob Subhani Nattu Paris and others responded. S.G. Chikkanaragund, writer spoke. Activists Ladai Basu, Manjula Kamble, Maruti Dhagennavar, Indira Holkar, Jayanand Madar and others were present.