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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