Left Parties to Launch Statewide Campaign Seeking Halt to SIR, Removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Protests, public meetings and demonstrations to be held from September 28 to October 2

Ranchi: Left parties in Jharkhand will launch a statewide campaign from September 28 to October 2 demanding an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The announcement was made at a joint press conference of the Left parties at the CPI(M) state office in Ranchi.

The CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Forward Bloc, RSP and SUCI(C), in a joint statement, said the campaign would include protests, public meetings and demonstrations across the state. The parties demanded that the SIR process be stopped immediately and that the names of voters allegedly removed incorrectly from the electoral rolls be restored.

The Left parties also called for ensuring an independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission. They demanded changes in the existing system for the appointment of Election Commissioners, proposing that appointments be made through a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

The Left leaders alleged that the CEC had disregarded objections raised by the other two Election Commissioners while taking important decisions. Referring to a report published by The Indian Express on September 23, they said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded written objections to certain decisions and processes of the Commission. The Election Commission, however, has said that decisions taken over the past year were unanimous decisions of the full Commission.

The Left parties alleged that the SIR exercise was placing greater emphasis on scrutiny and possible deletion of names from electoral rolls rather than ensuring the inclusion of eligible voters. They expressed concern that this could affect citizens' voting rights.

According to figures cited by the Left parties, 63,24,116 voters in Jharkhand have been issued notices during the SIR process for various reasons. Of these, 45,55,227 cases have been categorised as logical discrepancies, 14,03,205 as cases of no mapping and 3,65,684 as cases involving demographic similarity. The parties said that many of these discrepancies could be related to ordinary human or record-keeping errors.

The Left parties claimed that the SIR process could have a greater impact on Muslim minorities, tribals, Dalits, poor and less-educated sections, as well as women. They appealed to secular political parties, civil society organisations, workers' and farmers' organisations, and youth, student and women's organisations to participate in the campaign.

The parties also demanded that the Supreme Court take suo motu cognisance of the investigative report published by The Indian Express and conduct, under its supervision, an inquiry into allegations of irregularities in the electoral process and the alleged deletion of large numbers of names from electoral rolls in the name of SIR.

As part of the campaign, Left activists will organise demonstrations, public meetings and other programmes across Jharkhand between September 28 and October 2.

Left Parties to Launch Statewide Campaign Seeking Halt to SIR, Removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Protests, public meetings and demonstrations to be held from September 28 to October 2

Ranchi: Left parties in Jharkhand will launch a statewide campaign from September 28 to October 2 demanding an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The announcement was made at a joint press conference of the Left parties at the CPI(M) state office in Ranchi.

The CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Forward Bloc, RSP and SUCI(C), in a joint statement, said the campaign would include protests, public meetings and demonstrations across the state. The parties demanded that the SIR process be stopped immediately and that the names of voters allegedly removed incorrectly from the electoral rolls be restored.

The Left parties also called for ensuring an independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission. They demanded changes in the existing system for the appointment of Election Commissioners, proposing that appointments be made through a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

The Left leaders alleged that the CEC had disregarded objections raised by the other two Election Commissioners while taking important decisions. Referring to a report published by The Indian Express on September 23, they said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded written objections to certain decisions and processes of the Commission. The Election Commission, however, has said that decisions taken over the past year were unanimous decisions of the full Commission.

The Left parties alleged that the SIR exercise was placing greater emphasis on scrutiny and possible deletion of names from electoral rolls rather than ensuring the inclusion of eligible voters. They expressed concern that this could affect citizens' voting rights.

According to figures cited by the Left parties, 63,24,116 voters in Jharkhand have been issued notices during the SIR process for various reasons. Of these, 45,55,227 cases have been categorised as logical discrepancies, 14,03,205 as cases of no mapping and 3,65,684 as cases involving demographic similarity. The parties said that many of these discrepancies could be related to ordinary human or record-keeping errors.

The Left parties claimed that the SIR process could have a greater impact on Muslim minorities, tribals, Dalits, poor and less-educated sections, as well as women. They appealed to secular political parties, civil society organisations, workers' and farmers' organisations, and youth, student and women's organisations to participate in the campaign.

The parties also demanded that the Supreme Court take suo motu cognisance of the investigative report published by The Indian Express and conduct, under its supervision, an inquiry into allegations of irregularities in the electoral process and the alleged deletion of large numbers of names from electoral rolls in the name of SIR.

As part of the campaign, Left activists will organise demonstrations, public meetings and other programmes across Jharkhand between September 28 and October 2.

The press conference was addressed by CPI(M) state secretary Prakash Vipulav, CPI(ML) state secretary Manoj Bhakta, CPI's Ajay Singh and SUCI(C)'s Vimal Das.
Sudhanshu Shekhar