Congress Claims EC Unable to Confirm Number of Non-Citizens Removed from Bihar Voter List

NEW DELHI, Oct 7: The Congress on Tuesday sharply criticised the Election Commission (EC) over its handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, accusing it of failing to disclose how many non-citizens were actually removed from the voter list despite having justified the exercise on that very premise. The party alleged that the EC’s silence on this key issue raises serious questions about the credibility, transparency, and intent of the revision process.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on the Bihar SIR scheduled for today, said the Commission had “neither the integrity nor the courage” to reveal the outcome of the much-publicised drive. “Much was made of the need for the SIR exercise to remove non-citizens from the electoral roll. Yet the Election Commission has not had the integrity or the courage to enlighten the country on how many such non-citizens in Bihar were removed from the voter list,” Ramesh said. “If it had done so, the Commission would have been even more exposed than it already is.”

Ramesh also shared an independent analysis of the SIR exercise on social media platform X, which he said laid bare its fundamental flaws. “This fine analysis shows that the entire SIR exercise, bulldozed through by the Election Commission, has failed on all three counts — completeness, equity, and accuracy,” he wrote, arguing that the process had neither ensured the inclusion of all eligible voters nor effectively targeted ineligible ones.

The Congress and other opposition parties have consistently accused the Election Commission of acting at the behest of the ruling BJP, alleging that the SIR was politically motivated and designed to manipulate the voter rolls ahead of the high-stakes Bihar Assembly elections. They have claimed that genuine voters were arbitrarily removed, while the Commission’s stated goal of eliminating non-citizens remained unverified and possibly exaggerated.

The EC, however, has rejected these allegations, maintaining that the exercise was essential to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. It has asserted that no eligible citizen will be excluded from the voter list and that every ineligible entry will be removed in accordance with the law.

Bihar heads into a crucial election in two phases on November 6 and 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14. The contest is expected to be a direct battle between the ruling NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which includes the RJD and the Congress.