ECI dismisses Chidambaram's claims on voter list deletions as 'baseless'
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has dismissed Congress leader P Chidambaram's claims about potential deletions from the voter list in Tamil Nadu as "misleading" and "baseless." Chidambaram had expressed concern over 65 lakh voters in Bihar facing disenfranchisement and alleged that 6.5 lakh new voters were illegally added in Tamil Nadu. The ECI clarified that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process is not yet implemented in Tamil Nadu and accused Chidambaram of spreading false figures regarding voter enrollment.
Legal clarification
Voters can register in constituencies where they ordinarily reside: ECI
The ECI also clarified that under Article 19(1)(e) of the Constitution, citizens have the right to reside and settle anywhere in India. It said voters can register in constituencies where they ordinarily reside. The commission gave an example of a Tamil Nadu native living in Delhi being eligible to register there, and vice versa for a Bihar native living in Chennai.
Roll controversy
Draft electoral rolls in Bihar
Chidambaram's comments came after the ECI said over 65 lakh enumeration forms were not included in Bihar's draft electoral rolls. This reduced the number of registered voters from around 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. The ECI said that during this exercise, it found 22,34,501 people dead and another 36.28 lakh who had "permanently shifted" out or were "not found" at their addresses.
Political response
No political party has filed claims or objections yet
Despite the controversy, no political party has filed any claims or objections against Bihar's draft electoral rolls as of August 3. The ECI said it received no demands under claims and objections during the specified period. The publication of these draft rolls has sparked political debates, with opposition parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) questioning transparency in data on deaths provided by the ECI.
Remedy deadline
SIR process and enumeration forms
Under the first stage of SIR, voters were given "enumeration forms" either by BLOs or BLAs nominated by political parties, which they were to return after putting their signatures and appending documents acceptable as proof of identity. Those with complaints can approach authorities for a remedy by September 1. The ECI's clarification comes amid political debates over voter registration processes and their implications on upcoming elections in Bihar.