Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O.P. Rawat has called for urgent intervention from the Election Commission of India (ECI) concerning the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in West Bengal. Rawat, who served as CEC from January to December 2018, stated that if immediate remedial measures are not implemented, the entire SIR process in the state should be halted.
His stern warning comes in light of an Appellate Tribunal ruling specifically concerning West Bengal. According to Rawat, the tribunal found that a staggering 93 percent of the names deleted from the voter rolls were, in fact, those of genuine voters who were subsequently deprived of their right to vote. Rawat unequivocally termed this situation as “criminal negligence” on the part of the Election Commission.
Concerns Over Voter Deletions and EC's Internal Process
While acknowledging that the Election Commission had made corrections and improvements to the SIR process in earlier phases in other states and cities, Rawat emphasized that the specific issues in West Bengal warrant a more drastic response. He indicated that the revision exercise could continue elsewhere if similar mistakes were meticulously avoided and the process was managed with extreme care.
Rawat’s comments also emerge amidst broader questions regarding the decision-making within the three-member Election Commission during the SIR exercise. Reports have highlighted instances where Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi allegedly raised formal objections over decisions taken without their knowledge, particularly concerning voter deletions and database management.
EC Maintains Unanimous Decisions
In response to these reports, Election Commission officials have maintained that all decisions, including those related to the nationwide SIR, were unanimous and received the approval of all three commissioners. They referenced legal provisions and a Supreme Court judgment that stipulate decisions should, as far as possible, be taken unanimously, with a majority view prevailing when necessary.
The national rollout of the SIR has been overseen by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alongside Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi. The former CEC’s intervention underscores the gravity of the concerns surrounding the integrity of the voter revision process in West Bengal.