The INDIA bloc on Monday approached the Supreme Court (SC) against the Election Commission of India (ECI), voicing concerns over alleged discrepancies in the deletion of names of the voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress’ senior leader, Rahul Gandhi, filed the petition, seeking judicial scrutiny of the poll panel’s decision and a fair probe into the matter.
The plea is likely to be heard on Tuesday, October 13, casting the spotlight on the ongoing row surrounding the revision of electoral rolls and the accuracy of voter lists.
Rahul Gandhi leads Opposition march
The petition has jointly been filed by prominent leaders from several parties which fall under the banner of the INDIA bloc, and includes names such as Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Other names in the list include Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) MA Baby and Communist Party of India’s general secretary D Raja.
They have been joined by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Mahua Majhi, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Surpiya Sule and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP ET Mohammed Basheer. Leaders from multiple opposition parties have come in unison in a joint legal challenge to the ECI over concerns linked to the electoral roll revision exercise.
A still from the march
What are the demands raised in the petition?
The petition, filed by advocate S Prasanna, names the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a respondent, along with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
It further raises concerns over discrepancies in voter deletions during the SIR process and seeks the top court’s intervention to examine the decisions taken by the poll body. Among its key requests, the petition has demanded for the summoning of records pertaining to the ECI’s decisions and an independent probe into the alleged discrepancies.
The petitioners are seeking a deep scrutiny of the process through which voters are being eradicated from electoral rolls, keeping the procedures followed by the election authorities during the revision exercise in focus.
All eyes on SC’s hearing
Rahul Gandhi leading the march against CEC Kumar
The to-be-held hearing is likely to bring the concerns raised by the opposition leaders before the apex court. The proceedings could prove important in ascertaining how the petitioners’ demands for access to records and a fair probe are considered.
The case has added another legal dimension to the political debate over electoral roll revisions, voter deletions and the EC’s role in maintaining and documenting accurate voter lists.