SIR of voter rolls is constitutionally valid: Arjun Ram Meghwal
Meghwal said the provisions to revise electoral rolls were based on the framework created by Dr BR Ambedkar.
Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday said the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls is constitutionally valid, amid strong objections from the Opposition during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on electoral reforms.
Meghwal said the provisions to revise electoral rolls were based on the framework created by Dr BR Ambedkar, the framer of the Constitution, and noted that SIR was undertaken several times before in various states.
Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked the government, questioning electoral processes and the neutrality of the Election Commission of India (ECI). “The Election Commission is the soul of democracy. If it’s not transparent, democracy cannot survive,” Surjewala said, adding, “What is the problem with having a ballot election if people are with you? You should not be afraid of conducting ballot elections.”
The law minister countered him, alleging that the Congress humiliated Ambedkar when he was alive and in active public life. “The Dalit community was stressed when Dr BR Ambedkar lost the 1954 by-election in Bhandara. Dr Ambedkar was defeated by the Congress, and now the Congress is using his name.”
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP M Thambidurai said his party had faith in ECI’s actions. “Clean and accurate electoral rolls strengthen democracy, transparency empowers voters and campaigning is an important part of the electoral process, in that parties must be given a chance to campaign in certain areas,” he said.
Attacking the Congress, Meghwal further said, “That time Dr Ambedkar, the framer of the Constitution, himself was accusing that there were malpractices in the elections, what did the Election Commission do that time? When Dr Ambedkar and his running mate filed an election petition…”
