Supreme Court's Anti-Climactic Stand On Bihar SIR Leaves Electoral Integrity In Limbo

The most anticipated wait has turned out to be the anti-climax. Those who thought that on July 28, the Supreme Court would decide the fate of SIR (Special Intensive Review) of Bihar’s electoral list must be hugely disappointed. The two-judge bench refused to stop the publication of the draft voters list.

The matter will now be heard in the court on some other day, and that date will be decided tomorrow. This clearly opens the doors for the ECI (Election Commission of India) to go ahead with its process, and it seems once the list is put in, then it will be difficult to stop the whole process, as was hoped by the petitioners who challenged EC’s SIR.

The petitioners might find solace in the Supreme Court’s further reiteration that the Aadhar card and EPIC card should be considered for electoral lists. The Supreme Court had requested, in its last hearing on July 10, that the EC should consider the Aadhar card, ration card, and EPIC for the verification of genuineness of the voters.

The EC, in its affidavit, stubbornly rejected the Supreme Court’s advice, stating that these cards could be fake, to which Justice Kant said any card could be fake and requested, once again, to admit the two cards.

It is really perplexing why the EC refused to accept the SC’s advice and why, despite the SC categorically stating that it is not the EC’s job to verify the citizenship status of an individual, the EC has claimed that it must ensure only citizens are in the voters’ lists.

The EC’s behaviour is baffling. Its stubbornness is scary. The ECI’s job is not only to hold elections in a free and fair manner but also to be seen to be free and fair. Today, as far as the ECI is concerned, its credibility is at its lowest. It is seen to be favouring the ruling party at the centre.

And the Opposition, led by Rahul Gandhi, has openly accused the EC of not holding the elections in a free and fair manner; rather, it is complicit in the manipulation of elections. The entire opposition is protesting vehemently inside and outside the Parliament, accusing the SIR of being bulldozed to win the Bihar election for NDA.

There are media reports that the whole exercise is not being done properly. The BLOs are under pressure to complete the process in time and are not bothering to check if the process is done honestly.

It is most surprising that reporters, who caught the wrongdoings of the local administration on camera, are not being appreciated by the ECI; instead, FIRs have been lodged against them.

Prestigious newspapers like the Indian Express and the Dainik Bhaskar have published many reports, which clearly establish that all is not well with the SIR exercise. But the EC is not willing to listen. Instead, it is shooting the messenger.

It is beyond my comprehension as to why the EC is leaking the information that almost more than 60 lakh voters’ names will be deleted from the Bihar voters’ list. This comes to almost 8% of the total voters in Bihar. This is a huge number.

But how has the EC reached this number when forms are still in the process of being collected and scrutinised? These forms need to be minutely checked to see if the documents as demanded are well in order. This is a rigorous exercise, and as per the EC’s orders, anyone can submit the forms after enumeration, and the certificate can be given later.

Secondly, how can the EC assume that the opposition’s demand of scrapping the SIR has no merit? The EC can’t trash the opposition’s demand. It seems to have forgotten that in an election, the ruling party and the opposition are both equal stakeholders and carry equal weight.

Even if the Opposition’s demands are absurd, it is the EC’s job to gain their confidence and convince them that the EC is only an umpire and has no role or interest in manipulating elections in anyone’s favour. The whole electoral process will lose its sanctity, honesty, and credibility if the opposition’s concerns are not addressed.

RJD leader Tejasvi Yadav is so upset that he has threatened to boycott the elections if corrective measures are not taken. This is the first time that a frontline political party has threatened to boycott an election in peacetime. If the RJD sticks to its threats and the EC goes ahead with elections, then what will be the sanctity of the elections? We are aware of what happened in Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina’s party won elections because the main opposition party, the BNP, that of Khalida Zia, did not participate in the elections, and look what happened in the end. Sheikh Hasina’s government was an illegitimate government, and finally she had to leave the country.

India is a proud democracy. Elections, more or less, are fair. But since the Haryana assembly elections, there has been a serious question mark about the way elections are being conducted. This scepticism was followed by Maharashtra elections.

The Congress had complained to the EC and demanded certain CCTV footage of polling booths and voters’ lists that was not provided by the EC. Rather, the rule was changed so that the EC was not legally bound to give the video footage.

Rahul Gandhi has alleged that more than 40 lakh new voters were added to the Maharashtra voters’ lists. Surprisingly, instead of the EC, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis replied. These actions raise suspicions.

Opposition Leads In Appointing Booth Level Agents During Bihar’s SIR Exercise

The EC’s conduct during the SIR also has not helped to enhance its prestige. These are not good signs for the Indian democracy. The EC should not only provide a level playing field to both the parties but should also be seen and trusted to do so by all stakeholders. The EC’s failing is creating serious doubts about the legitimacy of elections, which was never the case earlier.

The writer is Co-Founder, SatyaHindi.com, and author of Hindu Rashtra. He tweets at @ashutosh83B