Ruckus over voter list correction before Bihar elections: Opposition alleges - 'NRC is being implemented secretly'

Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, there has been a political uproar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. The opposition has strongly objected to this process initiated by the Election Commission, calling it a conspiracy to secretly implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Opposition parties say that this process is an attempt to deprive the poor and marginalized communities of voting rights.

Voter list correction: Why did the controversy arise?

The Election Commission has started the SIR process to update the voter list in Bihar, under which voters will have to submit documents such as birth certificates of themselves and their parents. The commission says that this step has been taken to make the voter list clean and accurate. 20,000 new booth level officers (BLOs) will be appointed in Bihar and SMSes are being sent to 5.74 crore registered mobile numbers for awareness. The Commission has clarified that this process is within the ambit of the Constitution and the rights of any citizen will not be violated

Election Commission's response

The Election Commission rejected the allegations of the opposition and said that this process is only to ensure the right to vote to Indian citizens. The Commission also clarified that voters born before 1987 do not need to submit additional documents, and voters already included in the list will not be removed without due process.

Political strategy or administrative move?

BJP spokesperson Ajay Alok hit back at the opposition, saying that the revision of the voter list is a constitutional process and there is no conspiracy in it. He accused the opposition of protecting 'Bangladeshi supporters'. On the other hand, the opposition says that such a process just before the elections is a threat to democracy and this raises questions on the impartiality of the Election Commission.

What next?

This controversy can become a big issue in the Bihar assembly elections. The opposition has demanded a ban on this process and has said that it will challenge it in the Supreme Court. There is also a heated discussion on this issue among the people of Bihar, as it is directly related to their voting rights.