- 7 weeks ago
This special report covers the Election Commission of India's plan for a pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, sparking a major political row. Leaders like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee are opposing the move. In a statement, MK Stalin alleged it was a calculation by the BJP and AIADMK to win by removing voters from among the working class, Scheduled Castes, minorities, and women. The ECI maintains the exercise, last done two decades ago in many states, is crucial for a clean electoral roll. However, opposition parties allege the SIR is a plot to disenfranchise their voters ahead of key assembly elections in states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, and Assam. The programme delves into the claims and counter-claims, drawing parallels with the contentious SIR conducted in Bihar.
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NewsTranscript
00:00And now we head back to the big news of the day.
00:09As we told you, the Pan-India Voter List Survey or the SIR, the Special Intensive Revision, is set to happen very soon.
00:21And to give details of that, there will be a press conference that will be held tomorrow at 4.15 in the evening.
00:30And the poll panel will lay out the entire roadmap of how this exercise will be undertaken by the Election Commission of India
00:40and how will the state's Election Commission proceed with this entire exercise.
00:47Remember, Bihar saw this exercise happen and we saw massive politicization of the SIR.
00:56Will the road to SIR be as contentions in other states as we saw in Bihar?
01:03We are already seeing there are leaders in Tamil Nadu.
01:07We've seen the Chief Minister there and Kastalin raising issues with the SIR and accusing the NDA and the BJP of orchestrating voter deletion of the weak and the poor.
01:20But clearly, the Election Commission has made its plan and is set to roll it out
01:27and will be giving details of how the SIR or the Special Intensive Revision of the voter rolls will be conducted for the entire country.
01:37First on the list, as it is a phased exercise, first on the list will be the states that are going into elections next year.
01:45After that, some other states will also be included.
01:51Joining us is India Today's Aishwarya Paliwal.
01:55Aishwarya, do tell us this exercise of SIR that was successfully conducted in Bihar is now set to happen for the rest of the states.
02:06Do tell us how will this proceed in a phased manner and what is the Election Commission of India planning?
02:11Well, you know, one of the things, Anjali, that the Election Commission at the moment is planning is the fact that, you know,
02:18it's not just the state of Bihar, but other states also and we will see the other states also going in.
02:23For elections, we have a lot of elections that will take place early next year and then we have the big elections,
02:30you know, if we speak about the elections that will take place in the state of today.
02:34So that's also something which is lined up.
02:36So we will see different states going in for elections and a clean up of roads.
02:42That is something, Anjali, let me tell you, that the Election Commission has been speaking about,
02:45not just the Election Commission, political parties also, you know, all the major political parties,
02:49not just the BJP, but also other parties have been speaking about the fact that the need of PR is for a clean electoral road.
02:57Because we have all seen how people move from one place to the other.
03:00And it's not just that movement, you know, because of which we see voter ID cards.
03:06It's not something that all those people do because they want to do it.
03:10But that's why, you know, you move states and what happens is that one person has multiple ethics numbers,
03:15one person has multiple voter ID cards.
03:17So that's something that the Election Commission at the moment is looking at.
03:20And the difference between the SIR and the electoral rules that usually happen
03:25is the fact that all the BLOs now will make sure that they visit house to house to make sure that they have the details.
03:32And if there is someone who is not staying at a particular pace, then those names will be deleted.
03:36But yes, time will be given so that people can actually appeal.
03:40The draft electoral rule will be out and this will be done for the states that are going in for elections,
03:48the state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, the state of West Bengal.
03:50That is something that will be the focus of the Election Commission going forward.
03:53Right, absolutely. Aishwarya, do stay with us.
03:56As we all know, Election Commission might be announcing the SIR drive for these states,
04:02especially Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
04:05These are the states that would be soon going into election.
04:09The Election Commission is expected to announce a special intensive revision of voter lists in several states.
04:16Now, Aishwarya, do tell us these states, especially West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,
04:20the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in fact today, had raised this issue of SIR and is, you know, sort of throwing some doubt over the exercise.
04:30We've seen Mahmata Banerjee as well doing that.
04:33So it's not going to be an easy exercise for the Election Commission to roll it out in these states.
04:39Well, you know, one thing that the Election Commission, specifically if we see the state of Tamil Nadu,
04:47if we see the state of West Bengal, then what they will actually have to do is to make sure
04:51that the people actually who are going from one place to the other,
04:55they are the ones, you know, whose names are actually cut.
04:58It's not just that.
04:59We will also see how the Election Commission will have to deploy forces.
05:02We have seen how the opposition rules states, specifically the states of Tamil Nadu.
05:07We have also seen how Mahmata Banerjee also time and again has been speaking about the fact
05:11that this is a revision which will actually help the Bharti and the party.
05:14So this is the claims that have been made by the opposition states.
05:17But this is something that the Election Commission has been refuting.
05:20They are also saying that the initial figure, you know, let's just take Bihar as an example.
05:25We saw that the initial figure that came out was 65 lakhs.
05:28That actually got deleted and the number that was actually reduced was close to 40 lakhs.
05:33And all of them actually, the ECI said that none of these people actually came forward and made an appeal.
05:39So this is very, very clear that only genuine names are being added and genuine names are being deleted.
05:45The division that the Election Commission, the fine line that the Election Commission is now drawing
05:49because a lot of people also spoke about the fact that revision of roles is being done annually.
05:54So what was the need for the SIR?
05:56See, SIR in the state of Bihar was done almost after 22 years.
06:00In other states also, the SIR will be done almost after two decades,
06:04which means that this kind of cleanup and overhaul of sorts has been done last.
06:08In most of these states, almost 20 years back.
06:10So a lot of names need to be added.
06:12A lot of names need to be removed from the list.
06:16So the idea of the Election Commission, very, very clear.
06:19They want to make sure that the electoral role is the cleanest possible.
06:22130 crore people, that's the population of our country that we are looking at at the moment.
06:27Everyone should have a level playing field and everyone who has the right to vote
06:31should have a voter ID card and should be able to vote.
06:34So this is what the Election Commission has been speaking about
06:36and that's what we will see in the press conference also tomorrow.
06:39Anjali.
06:40Right.
06:40It is a tedious process that goes on for many days as we have seen in Bihar as well
06:45and the Election Commissioners have been informing us how it happens.
06:48There is a mapping that is done of the parental and progeny links.
06:52It is a big, big exercise.
06:54But Aishwarya, we have also seen legal troubles mount whenever the SIR exercise is initiated.
07:01There are cases that are filed.
07:03There are voter agencies.
07:05I beg your pardon, there are people who work for the voters, right?
07:09They have also come forward and they have filed applications against this exercise.
07:13So can we expect now that there might be such a flurry of cases now
07:18as it starts rolling out in other states?
07:21Well, you know, let me tell you, I don't think the opposition parties will now be knocking on the doors of the court.
07:30But yes, we could see some swift resistance coming in, especially from the state of West Bengal.
07:34Because Manda Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal,
07:37she believes that this actually is a cleanup of sorts which will be done.
07:40And their voters, the voters who vote for the opposition parties,
07:43this is what the opposition parties have been speaking about.
07:46You also saw hydrogen bomb.
07:47That's what Rahul Gandhi has been saying, that there is a hydrogen bomb which he will come out with.
07:52They have been making certain claims.
07:54They have been speaking about the fact that they have evidence that cleanup is being done
07:58and their voters, their names actually are being deleted.
08:02So this is something that the opposition has been speaking about.
08:05We will see the DMK, the ruling party in the state of Tamil Nadu.
08:08Already the Chief Minister, MK, Stalin, has been giving out certain names,
08:12has been giving out comments on the SIR.
08:13We will see the other states also doing the same, especially the opposition-ruled states.
08:18The BJP, however, has been saying that this is the need of the hour.
08:21Also have been pointing fingers that cleanup is something that is very much required.
08:26Right. Absolutely.
08:27Aishwara, do stay with us.
08:29Pramod Madhav joins us on the phone line from Chennai.
08:32Pramod, you know, today itself, it became a big issue in the state of Tamil Nadu.
08:37The Chief Minister is accusing the AIA-DMK of probably using the SIR exercise to try to come back into power.
08:46So the exercise of SIR, how difficult will it be to roll out in Tamil Nadu?
08:54Well, Aashwara, one thing is very simple here.
08:56Because the DMK, not just now, but since the moment SIR was brought in
08:59and since Rahul Gandhi Sarna raised this allegation over what there's been,
09:03there's been a lot of, what Congress calls as like frauds and such.
09:06The Chief Minister has been constantly claiming that 7,000,000 people have been removed from it.
09:10And here, in a letter which he has written to the party carers,
09:13he mentioned that the voting power, the democratic power of people,
09:17especially of women and minorities, will be removed through SIR.
09:20So this is a kind of, what he calls a conspiracy web.
09:23And he's stated that the DMK should, the caterers should be extremely vigilant about it.
09:27And in fact, the DMK is actually going ahead and they're going to have a kind of a program
09:31a day after tomorrow at Mubilipuram,
09:33where the Chief Minister will directly meet with the key party leaders,
09:37along with all the party senior leaders,
09:40where there's going to be a kind of a program where what, how to tackle the SIR,
09:43what should be done, that is going to be discussed.
09:45So it's a very serious matter when it comes to Tamil Nadu,
09:47considering that we are going to face elections in 2026.
09:50Not just that, just like you mentioned,
09:52the Chief Minister MK Stalin is actually blaming BJP and AIDNK
09:55as a way to use SIR to come to power in 2026.
09:59And that is why, to tooth and nail, DMK is actually opposing this year.
10:03Right. Pramod, but, you know, we have seen,
10:06although many parties and many Chief Ministers raise their voice against the SIR,
10:11but eventually when it comes to filing complaints against certain things
10:17or making formal complaints, they back off.
10:20Do you think that DMK is ready to take this fight all the way till the end?
10:26I think it's very clear because the Chief Minister in this particular letter
10:29and earlier also has very stated that the party will definitely go ahead
10:33and also a legal battle if needed in this particular case.
10:36So what they are doing to do, they are going to plan,
10:38is actually do a step-by-step process by which,
10:40once the SIR is introduced,
10:42already they have written to the Election Commission
10:45to not conduct this particular program, you know, the form of SIR.
10:48But if there needs to be any kind of correction that needs to be done
10:51to the electoral process or the, you know, voters' ID or such,
10:54that should be done with a common process that is being followed until now.
10:58And if SIR is going to be conducted,
10:59they are actually, this is the reason DMK is actually going to conduct
11:02their program on the day after tomorrow,
11:04where, if and anywhere they find a discrepancy,
11:07they are going to utilize that as a form for their legal battle
11:10in the further course.
11:12Right. Thank you, Pramod, for all those details.
11:14And thank you, Ishwarya, for telling us
11:16what the Election Commission of India is planning
11:18and how they're going to execute this SIR.
11:24And it seems Hafiz Sayyad of the DMK is now joining us on this broadcast.
11:29Thank you very much, Mr. Sayyad, for speaking with us.
11:32So, it seems your party is not ready to accept the SIR.
11:37In fact, you are calling it a tool for the AIA-DMK to come into power?
11:43See, that is what the real history of the Election Commission tells us,
11:47that the Election Commission is not ready to create the credibility on itself.
11:53From the way it is acting in Karnataka,
11:56the SAT has prima facet found that there were serious efforts
12:02to delete around 6,000 voters
12:04with a call center being given money to do it.
12:07That investigation is there.
12:10The SAT is trying hard to find who the reason,
12:13who is the reason behind all these things.
12:16But the Election Commission is not giving technical data.
12:19Now, like we saw in the Supreme Court also,
12:21the Supreme Court had to interfere and ensure that the entire SIR process in Bihar
12:26was made transparent, was made acceptable by all.
12:30So, this attitude of the Election Commission,
12:33not only the political parties,
12:35but the common perception of the people about the Election Commission today in Karnataka,
12:40is that it is working with interest,
12:44and it has shown partisanship in the recent past.
12:47So, that is the reason why we are opposing the SIR move by the Election Commission in India.
12:54Right.
12:54Thank you very much, Dr. Seyyed Hafiz, for speaking with India today.
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