Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls: A Political and Constitutional Controversy
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Election Commission of India - ECI, Elections, Electoral Rolls, Legislative Assembly - Resolutions, National Register of Citizens - NRC); Current Events of National Importance.
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act; Powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies (ECI); Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure.
Key Highlights from the News
The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution, with both ruling and opposition parties, against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Kerala, proposed by the Election Commission (EC).
The resolution expresses concern that this action could potentially undermine the voting rights of the people.
Main objections raised in the resolution:
Using the 2002 electoral roll as the base document.
The timing of this action, just before the local self-government elections.
The stipulated eligibility criteria are likely to adversely affect vulnerable sections such as minorities, women, the poor, and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
The resolution fears that this is an indirect attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The resolution describes the SIR conducted in Bihar as "politics of expulsion."
The Assembly also argued that it is improper to implement the SIR hastily while its constitutional validity is under consideration by the Supreme Court.
COMMENTS