SIR name deletion complaints to be ‘110% resolved’ before next LS polls: CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Complaints related to the deletion of names from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) will be “110 per cent resolved” before the next Lok Sabha elections, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Kumar was speaking during a special interaction on ‘Conducting Elections in India – The Largest Democracy in the World’ organised at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) during his two-day visit to Gujarat.

Addressing concerns over the SIR exercise, the CEC said voters whose names had been excluded from the electoral rolls could challenge the decision through a multi-level appeal process.

“You can complain to the SDM. If it is rejected, you can appeal to the district collector, and a second appeal can be filed to the state chief electoral officer. Then you can go to court,” Kumar said.

Asked whether the thousands of complaints received during the SIR process could be resolved before the next Lok Sabha elections, Kumar replied, “110 per cent.”

He said SIR had also been conducted in 2002 and explained that the exercise was aimed at verifying voter eligibility and updating electoral rolls by identifying people who were absent, had shifted residence, were deceased, duplicate entries and foreigners.

“Our focus is to clean the rolls of those who are absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and foreigners,” he said.

Kumar said the Election Commission relies on documentary evidence during the verification process. He said applicants may be required to provide their own documents or those of their parents to establish eligibility and citizenship.

He added that eligibility remained the fundamental requirement for inclusion in the electoral rolls. “The Constitution or the EC cannot help if you are not eligible,” he said.

According to Kumar, following SIR exercises in around 12 states, election authorities had not received appeals against name deletions in some of the states. He said he was regularly monitoring the process.

‘Criticism is part of democracy’

Responding to questions about criticism of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Kumar said there should not be a fixed line beyond which criticism of the constitutional body would not be allowed.

“I do not think we can draw a line. Any number of lines you can draw, and every one of them will be breached. It is okay to take the criticism,” he said.

“We should have stronger and stronger shoulders to take these bullets every single day,” Kumar added.

Defending India’s electoral system, the CEC said elections were conducted in accordance with the Constitution, election laws and the directions of the ECI.

He said conducting Lok Sabha elections for around 900 million (90 crore) voters, with approximately 18 million (1.8 crore) personnel involved in election duties, represented the world’s largest electoral exercise.

12 lakh BLOs involved in verification

Kumar said the electoral process broadly consists of three stages, preparation of electoral rolls, voting and counting.

Around 1.2 million (12 lakh) Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conduct door-to-door verification of electoral rolls, while continuous verification is undertaken to ensure that eligible citizens are included and ineligible entries are removed.

He said the basic principle of electoral-roll management was that “all eligible persons should become voters” while “no ineligible person should become a voter.”

He also highlighted the participation of political parties and candidates throughout the electoral process, from preparation and verification of electoral rolls to voting and counting.

EVMs not connected to internet, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

On concerns surrounding electronic voting machines (EVMs), Kumar said the machines were standalone devices and were not connected to the internet, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

He said a mock poll is conducted in the presence of candidates’ representatives before actual voting begins to verify that the EVMs are functioning properly.

After polling, the votes recorded are documented in Form 17C, following which the EVMs are sealed as per procedure. During counting, the results are verified in the presence of counting agents of candidates.

Kumar said EVMs had faced scrutiny through Supreme Court cases, hackathons and mock polls over several decades. “EVM still has won. Victorious every time,” he said.

ECI Net to streamline election communication

The CEC also spoke about the increasing use of technology in election management. He said an integrated digital platform, ECI Net, was being used to facilitate faster communication across the election machinery by bringing together communication channels that had earlier operated through separate applications.

Urging young people and citizens to participate actively in the democratic process, Kumar said every eligible citizen aged 18 and above should register as a voter and exercise their right to vote.

The interaction was attended by Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer Sandeep Sagale, AMA President Rajiv Gandhi, Rinkesh Patel, Yogesh Thakkar, election officials, AMA representatives, youth and citizens. DeshGujarat