P. Chidambaram Highlights Flaws in Voter List Review at Congress Meeting

New Delhi, September 30 (Daily Kiran) : Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram stated on Wednesday that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has identified several flaws in the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of the voter list. He reiterated three key demands raised by the party during the meeting.

In a statement, Chidambaram noted, “On Tuesday, the CWC found various issues in the SIR and put forth three demands clearly.”

The demands include the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the SIR process, and reinstatement of the 13.30 crore names removed from the voter list. He expressed disappointment with the BJP’s response to the CWC’s proposals and the defense of the CEC.

While Chidambaram agreed that names of deceased voters should be removed, he questioned the removal of names based on other grounds. “No one wants deceased voters on the list. They can be removed through the annual general revision on January 1. But what about names removed on baseless grounds like ‘inability to fill Form 6,’ ‘not found at the address,’ or ‘logical discrepancies’?” he asked.

He also raised concerns about the extensive removal of names, stating, “The BJP must clarify how 14 percent of India’s adult population was removed from the voter list across 20 states under the SIR.” He referenced the outcomes of appeals in West Bengal, where judges approved 91 percent of appeals against name removals, leading to the reinstatement of affected individuals.

Chidambaram highlighted a question posed by Anjali Bhargav of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), which inquired about the file containing the original decision for the SIR. He remarked, “There are still many questions. I am confident that the entire SIR process will be revealed in the coming weeks or months.”

Meanwhile, a meeting of the ‘India Block’ is scheduled for Wednesday, following the demands raised by the CWC. Congress leaders are expected to bring up the discussed issues during the meeting of the broader opposition alliance.