Bihar rejects Oppn’s anti-SIR stand; PM lauds EC, CEC says ‘zero appeals’ validated SIR | India News
NEW DELHI: The smooth and peaceful conduct of Bihar polls with the highest turnout ever, particularly after the first special intensive revision (SIR) of its electoral roll in over two decades, is set to boost the confidence of Election Commission as it goes about Phase 2 of SIR across a dozen states and Union territories, including those due for assembly polls next.The overwhelming participation of electors first in SIR and then in Bihar polls is seen as a clear indication that the ‘vote chori’ campaign of the Opposition, led by the Congress and amplified by Rahul Gandhi through his ‘vote adhikar’ yatra in the state, press conferences and even personal attacks against the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, did not find resonance with the public. The assessment is reinforced by the Congress’s modest six-seat tally.
Even the Supreme Court had refused to entertain the opposition parties’ and activists’ pleas to stay and quash SIR in Bihar, based on their fear that it would disenfranchise electors from weaker sections and minorities. Of course, the high participation of these very sections in the Bihar poll, has demolished their argument.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his victory speech on Friday, said the high voting in Bihar, particularly by the weaker sections, is a big achievement of the EC, as is the elimination of repolls that were synonymous with elections during the ‘jungle raj’ era. He recalled how voting in Naxalism-hit polling stations was earlier wound up at 3 PM over security concerns. This time, he said, electors voted overwhelmingly and fearlessly, erasing old memories of ballot boxes being looted.“I congratulate the EC, poll-related officers, security forces and electors for this,” said Modi. Importantly, he underlined that the electors of Bihar, particularly the youth, had shown that they take SIR with utmost seriousness. “For purity of democracy, every vote matters,” he said while exhorting the party apparatus at the polling station level to contribute 100% to SIR in other places.Speaking to TOI, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said: “The zero appeals against the final electoral roll of Bihar, not a single request for repoll from the 2,616 candidates or 12 recognised parties and the highest polling since Bihar’s first election in 1951, show the precision and commitment with which EC and its ground machinery have worked to deliver a free, fair and peaceful election. This, for EC, is the biggest validation”.Kumar was personally targeted in comments by Rahul Gandhi and AI-generated campaigns on Congress’s social media handles, both over SIR and alleged roll irregularities in long-gone elections in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana. Yet, displaying tenacity, EC countered each attack with facts and cited the relevant provisions of law validating its actions and directions. Transparency at each stage of SIR — enumeration, claims and objections and their disposal — with daily bulletins and fact-checks ensured a direct line with the electors who willingly participated in SIR and ensured that all deadlines were met.
