SIR: Final list conceals more than it reveals, says CPI(ML) Liberation

New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) As the final voter list for Bihar was released following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Wednesday said the figures conceal more than they reveal.

In a statement issued here, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation leader wondered what happened to the three lakh voters who were sent notices to substantiate their documents.

"These macro figures conceal more than they reveal. We do not know how many of those electors whose names were wrongfully deleted in July have succeeded in finding their way back in this September 30 'final list'," Bhattacharya said a day after the publication of the final electoral rolls in Bihar.

He said the Election Commission (EC) should disclose now that how many foreign nationals it found in Bihar's voter list, adding that the poll panel should provide some clarity on the exercise.

"There was only a circular telling us about the launch of the SIR. And now again, there is only a press note signed by an assistant director. Why is the ECI not holding a press conference to give us some clarity about such a massive and unprecedented exercise?" he asked.

Bhattacharya wondered what happened to the three lakh voters who were sent notices by the EC to substantiate their documents.

"Did they not submit their Aadhaar cards? Did the EC accept Aadhaar as a stand-alone document after being explicitly asked by the Supreme Court?" he asked.

"We do not know how many mischievously-targeted deletion attempts could be foiled and how many succeeded in their deletion design! We do not know how many of the Form-6 entrants are actually new first-time voters and how many are old voters made new! "We do not know how many of the 16 lakh addresses sheltering more than 10 voters were actually verified," the Left leader added.

He said in spite of the inclusion of more than 20 lakh "presumably" new voters, the electorate size of Bihar has shrunk by close to 50 lakh.

The total number of voters in poll-bound Bihar has come down by nearly 47 lakh to 7.42 crore in the final electoral rolls published on Tuesday, from 7.89 crore before the SIR.

The final figure has, however, increased by 17.87 lakh from the 7.24 crore electors named in the draft list issued on August 1 that had removed 65 lakh voters from the original list on various accounts, including deaths, migration and duplication.

The Bihar Assembly polls are likely to be held in November. PTI AO RC