Are we a Republic of Fools to the ECI?

Precisely what we’d feared has come to move. A mad, mad decree — absolutely Tughlaq’s envy — is issued in Delhi. It lands in Bihar and all hell breaks free. Now that the genie is out of the bottle and the Election Fee of India’s ‘particular intensive’ mess unattainable to comprise, it’s busy fabricating a cover-up story.

Within the morning papers, the ECI places out an advert. Within the night, it points a denial.

Stories pouring in from numerous components of Bihar are deeply troubling. However as a substitute of addressing the issue on the bottom, the Fee needs to shoot the messenger — and brazen it out by promoting absurd numbers. An establishment as soon as counted among the many most trusted within the nation has grow to be a joke.

Time to ask the eminences at present heading the Election Fee of India some blunt questions:

#1

When the brand new CEC (chief election commissioner) took cost, the ECI made fairly a track and dance about its dedication to ‘session and dialogue’, about holding greater than 4,000 conferences with political events in two months. Query: in any of these conferences, did you even trace that you just had been planning a ‘particular intensive revision’ of your complete nation’s voter checklist? Earlier than taking such a dramatic step, must you not have consulted political events throughout the nation — particularly in Bihar, the place elections had been to be held soonest?

*** NOTE TO READERS ***

Because of the ECI’s dodgy ‘clarifications’ and shifting narrative, confusion reigned amongst voters in Bihar when our print version of 13 July, by which this text was to be printed, went to press. We paused manufacturing to be aware of the Supreme Courtroom’s intervention on Thursday, 10 July.

We be aware, subsequently, that the court docket has allowed the SIR to proceed even because it questioned the timing of the train and the locus of the ECI to confirm citizenship. The court docket additionally urged the ECI to confess Aadhaar, Voter ID and PDS ration playing cards as legitimate paperwork — or to clarify why they weren’t legitimate.

The ECI has to reply by 21 July and the subsequent court docket listening to is on 28 July. This text continues beneath…

***

#2

Since 2003, the Election Fee had put an finish to intensive revisions — i.e., creating a wholly recent electoral roll.

What prompted you to reverse that call?

The explanations you’ve supplied — urbanisation, migration, duplicate entries — couldn’t these be addressed by way of a particular and thorough revision of the present rolls? Why throw out the previous checklist and begin from scratch?

Did the Election Fee assess the professionals and cons earlier than taking this resolution? Was there even an inner session? Can that file be made public?

#3

You’ve chosen to base this recent revision on the 2003 voter checklist. However that checklist too was created by revising an older checklist. Again then, voters weren’t requested to supply proof both.

So what makes the 2003 checklist ‘genuine’ and those after that suspect? By that logic, is the Election Fee admitting that each election held after 2003 used a flawed voter checklist?

#4

For these not on the 2003 checklist, you’re asking for one in every of 11 particular paperwork. Is the Election Fee assured that each Indian citizen possesses not less than one in every of these paperwork? Has the Fee examined what proportion of individuals in Bihar even have them? If sure, why not launch that knowledge?

And if not, why ignore the phrase of specialists who’ve proven — utilizing authorities knowledge — that not even half of Bihar’s inhabitants have these paperwork?

#5

Why doesn’t the Election Fee settle for frequent paperwork like Aadhaar, ration playing cards or MGNREGA job playing cards — those commonest people have? What’s the distinction between these and the 11 ‘legitimate’ paperwork? If a residence certificates issued in opposition to Aadhaar is legitimate, why not the Aadhaar card itself? And why received’t the Fee settle for its personal picture ID card?

#6

Why did you select Bihar to launch this ‘particular intensive revision’ train — and that, simply 4 months earlier than elections?

Hadn’t you already accomplished a revision of Bihar’s voter checklist in December? Had been there any main complaints of fraud about that checklist from any political get together? Did Bihar, like Maharashtra, see a sudden, inexplicable soar in voter numbers? Did any get together or group demand that the checklist be scrapped?

#7

Why was this B.I.G. directive to be carried out at simply 12 hours’ discover? Did you actually imagine that you could possibly difficulty an order from Delhi within the night and begin distributing varieties the subsequent morning at 97,000 polling cubicles in Bihar? Do you not know the way lengthy it takes to print varieties for 8,00,00,000 [8 crore] names? Or that 20,000 of these 97,000 cubicles didn’t even have Sales space Degree Officers (BLOs) — and nonetheless don’t, two weeks on?

#8

Why just one month to finish such a large and sophisticated train? Has something of this scale — affecting crores of individuals — ever been pulled off in a month? The Bihar caste survey, which didn’t even require individuals to fill varieties or submit paperwork, took 5 months. And now you suppose you’ll pull off a miracle in a single month — in the midst of the monsoon and flood season? What world do you reside in?

#9

Let’s say you made a mistake — whether or not in haste or below stress. Why not simply admit it? Why these limitless excuses? You realize very effectively this revision has nothing to do with removing duplicate voters. So why trot out such flimsy arguments? What number of complaints has the Fee obtained about unlawful international nationals in Bihar’s new 2025 voter rolls? If none, why use that as a pretext?

#10

You realize full effectively that of the 4.96 crore voters on the 2003 Bihar checklist, some 1.5 crore are both useless or have left the state. Why maintain repeating that 4.96 crore individuals received’t have to indicate paperwork? Do these lies befit an establishment just like the ECI?

#11

You’ve currently been releasing outrageous statistics on daily basis — and persons are laughing at you. Barely half the inhabitants has even obtained varieties, but you declare that 36 per cent have already stuffed and submitted their varieties!

If that’s true, why not publish the names? If not—who’re you making an attempt to idiot?

Or as they might say in snippy Bihari model: का बाबू, पब्लिक के बुड़बक समझे हो का?