INDIA bloc leaders blast Bihar SIR at JNU: 'Indian democracy at stake'

Leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc on Wednesday (July 30) reiterated that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in election-bound Bihar is part of a systematic disenfranchisement of voters, especially from poor and marginalised communities.

Calling it a ploy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to push its ideological project, they agreed in principle that the SIR has to be fought on the streets and by reaching out to people.

The Opposition, which has been protesting for a week now over the issue, sought its discussion in Parliament but to no avail.

Also read: SC on Bihar SIR: We will step in if there's mass exclusion of voters

On Wednesday, Opposition leaders came together at a public meeting organised at the popular Sabarmati Dhaba on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress. The event was held under the banner ‘Constitution and Constitutional Functionaries: SIR Tactics, Institutional Crisis and Assault on Social Justice’.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh, who has moved a petition in the Supreme Court against SIR, said on the occasion that the Election Commission (EC) was asking for decades-old documents while it did not care about maintaining certain records.

“There was a revision of rolls in 2003 also, but there was no hungama (uproar) then. It was because the benchmark was liberal, and it took almost a year to complete the exercise. People had the time to challenge and clarify. We asked the Election Commission (EC) for the SOP (standard operating procedure) for the 2003 elections, and they said they have no SOPs or documents from that time. They don’t have records from 23 years ago, but they expect people to keep all the documents dating back 70 years,” he said.

‘They couldn’t find Modi’s degree’

“Only 24 per cent people in Bihar have passed high school, and most of them also don’t have papers from that time. Around 40 per cent people in Bihar don’t have land holdings. They were not able to find PM Modi's degree also. But they want everyone’s degree and land papers. They are not asking for any documents that are saturated. Almost everyone has Aadhaar, EPIC (Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card) and ration cards, but these are not being considered. The SC asked them to consider these documents as well, but it made no difference to the EC,” Singh added.

Also read: Is EC’s Bihar SIR a ploy to unseat Nitish, put BJP in the saddle?

The parliamentarian from Buxar said “100 excuses were being made” to keep people out of the electoral rolls and more would be concocted in the time to come. He also pointed out that the exercise was being done as an examination or evaluation of 'panna pramukhs' (BJP grassroots functionaries who act as a bridge between the voters and the party) to see who could do their job well and keep people out.

India's youngest MP, Pushpendra Saroj of the Samajwadi Party, said the SIR exercise was “a direct attack on the Constitution”.

“This is not a one-off exercise. It is a direct attack on the Constitution of India. It is a systematic approach to change the constitution to their (BJP’s) liking. It is unfortunate that we are under a government that is no longer democratic,” he said at the meeting.

Also read: Bihar SIR ground report: BLOs speak on accusations, EC targets, challenges

“Exactly a year ago, the same people voted and sent these people to power, and today their voting rights have been snatched. This is happening because the tables have turned. People are looking towards change,” he added.

According to Saroj, the dismantling of the election process began in 2023, when the Chief Justice of India was removed from the panel to elect election commissioners, and lamented the state of the EC, which has been accused of becoming a “silent partner” of the BJP’s ideology.

“This is not about Hindu or Muslim. It is a matter of deep-rooted caste… Systematically, votes are being cut. We have a very big responsibility to fight the government. This is not about a single person or a single party. Real protest has to happen on the street,” he said.

Also read: EC faces Bengal teachers' 'rebellion' as Bihar-like SIR move gathers storm

What was the need, asks Digvijaya

While criticising the SIR, veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh said the fight against it would require a public movement and that the Opposition was united in the fight.

“The country is in danger today…What was the need for SIR? Earlier, the voter list was revised once a year. They started a quarterly revision of rolls. Election officials have the mandate to go booth to booth. So what was the need?” the Congress MP asked.

“Even we MPs will not have the certificates and papers that are being asked for by the EC. What about the poor and migrant labourers? Why is Aadhaar not being considered? The entire Opposition want a debate on SIR in Parliament, but they’re not agreeing,” he said.

Singh reiterated that the Opposition were united on “ideological grounds” and appealed to the students of JNU to think of the future.

Also read: Bihar electoral roll revision: Elitist and arbitrary, SIR!

“We are at a crossroads. You have a challenging task for your future… Our democracy is at stake, our free and fair elections are at stake from those who don't believe in democracy, socialism or secularism,” he said.

'Hindutva's contempt for consent'

Ajay Gudavarthy, who teaches political science at JNU, argued that the SIR exercise was not just about Bihar or upcoming elections, but reflected the long-term vision of the Hindutva project.

“It shows Hindutva’s contempt for consent. They don’t have any belief in democracy. Under the SIR, those who will be deleted are Hindus. Your agenda was the Hindu agenda, so why are you not listening to them? You want to divide the Dalits and OBCs. It also shows the retributive, revengeful governance style, which says if you don't vote for us, we will delete your names from the roll. We saw this in Delhi too, where all the welfare schemes were stopped by the LG (lieutenant governor). Revengeful politics is at the heart of the Sangh Parivar,” he said.

Gudavarthy, however, said the most important point was “contempt for and suspicion of the poor”.

Also read: JDU issues show-cause notice to MP Giridhari Yadav for criticising SIR

“Earlier, they spoke of illegal immigrants, referred to them as termites, etc. Now, even migrants from our own country are not being considered. It is most dangerous that they’re creating this public ethic of hating the poor and the weak,” he said.

He also added that he didn’t think “courts will come to our rescue” and argued that the BJP was banking on the fact that the Opposition would not be able to mobilise people on the issue.

“They are riding on the strength that the opposition will not be able to make this a political issue, which will bring people out for street protests. The question is -- will we be able to mobilise on the streets?” Gudavarthy asked.