'Irregularities' in Bihar final electoral rolls to be flagged before EC: Dipankar

Patna, Oct 3 (PTI) The CPI(ML) Liberation on Friday claimed to have found "irregularities" in Bihar's final electoral rolls, published earlier this week after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and vowed to raise the issue before the Election Commission.

Addressing a press conference here, Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Left party, said, "In effect, 69 lakh names have been struck off" the voters' list that was in place before SIR was ordered in June-end.

"More than 65 lakh names were removed in August, when draft rolls were published. Another 3.66 lakh have been removed from the final list. Altogether, 69 lakh deletions have taken place. Because of 21.53 lakh additions, the net increase appears as 47 lakh," Bhattacharya claimed.

He added, "We would like to know, of the new names that were added, how many are of persons whose deletion from draft rolls was challenged. The EC must also disclose why 3.66 lakh names were dropped after the final draft rolls were published and whether the persons concerned were given an opportunity for a hearing." "We have also learnt that the sex ratio of voters in the latest electoral rolls is less than what it was in June. This needs some explanation. We cannot think that women have died and migrated in greater numbers than men", the CPI(ML)-L general secretary said.

Bhattacharya criticised the poll body for not holding press conferences on the revision exercise.

"Unfortunately, the EC has been reluctant to hold press conferences on such a massive exercise. Both its start and finish were announced through press releases. We have been left with no option but to depend on source-based reports in the media," he said.

"Nonetheless, we will flag all the irregularities before the EC when it visits Bihar tomorrow. Getting the correct facts is all the more important for us as the Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging SIR next week, and we are one of the petitioners", he added.

The Left leader said he was back from a tour to Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district, where more than 1,000 acres have been leased out to a business house for setting up a power plant at a throwaway price.

He claimed, "Lakhs of trees are likely to be felled" in the area to clear the land for the project, which, in addition to harming the ecology, would "render jobless thousands dependent on the orchards for their livelihood".

"Locals who raise their voices face intimidation from NDA leaders, including MLAs. In the upcoming elections, we shall expose this conspiracy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar", alleged Bhattacharya. PTI NAC MNB