Ranchi :: A crucial meeting was held today at the office of United Milli Forum, Ranchi, under the banner of Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, to discuss in detail the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process initiated by the Election Commission. The meeting was chaired by Bharat Jodo Abhiyan National Executive Member Praveer Peter, while it was conducted by United Milli Forum Secretary and Bharat Jodo Abhiyan member Afzal Anees.
During the meeting, participants expressed concern that the process being launched in Jharkhand must draw lessons from the experience of Bihar, where several voters’ names were deleted from the electoral rolls because the procedure was made unnecessarily complicated.
The members emphasized that the Election Commission appears to be introducing a citizenship verification exercise through the backdoor, which could adversely affect the voting rights of certain communities and women. Although the Supreme Court’s intervention brought some corrections in Bihar, nearly 8 million voters were still found missing from the rolls compared to the previous revision. This, they said, clearly shows that the documents being demanded under the SIR process and the method of deletion could cause serious difficulties for ordinary citizens.
It was also discussed that in the coming year, states going to elections — such as West Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu — along with other states across the country, will undergo the SIR process. Therefore, social and political organizations must begin awareness campaigns immediately to alert people about voter list revision, potential voter disenfranchisement, and citizenship verification under disguise.
Participants further pointed out that the Election Commission has not yet presented any concrete data on infiltration, even though that has been cited as the main reason behind launching this special revision. Attempts are being made to repeat the same narrative in Jharkhand, just as during the previous elections. However, organizations like Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, and United Milli Forum have resolved to launch a massive public awareness campaign to counter it.
The meeting unanimously decided to launch a statewide awareness drive. Leaflets, posters, and videos will be distributed in villages to ensure that no voter’s name is deleted from the electoral list. In addition, help desks and assistance centers will be set up to guide citizens in filling forms and collecting necessary documents.
It was also decided that a delegation will meet the State Election Commission to demand that no legitimate voter’s name be removed from the electoral rolls during the SIR process.
The meeting was attended by Tom Kavla, Siraj Datta, and Elina Horo from Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha; Nandita Bhattacharya from AIPWA; senior journalist and social activist Ashok Verma; Faisal Anurag; and Jiaul Islam, Sohel Akhtar, and Imamul Haq from United Milli Forum.
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