‘Millions of poor losing right to vote’: Sachin Pilot raises alarm over SIR

Jaipur, Nov 29 Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday accused the Election Commission of acting with unprecedented haste and creating widespread fear during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that voter deletions, especially of the poor, Dalits, tribals, and the uneducated, were happening on a massive scale.

Speaking in Jaipur and Tonk, Pilot said the EC’s conduct has raised serious questions about its impartiality, warning that public trust will collapse if constitutional responsibilities are carried out “under pressure from ideology or government.”

Speaking to the media in Jaipur, Sachin Pilot said that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has taken place several times in the country before, but there was never fear or controversy surrounding it.

“For the first time, the attitude of the Election Commission has created concern among the people,” he said. Pilot alleged that names of voters were struck off in Bihar and that the current campaign has given ordinary citizens very little time to respond.

“People across many states are under stress; some are even taking extreme steps due to the pressure. This clearly indicates that irregularities are taking place,” he added.

He emphasised that the Election Commission must function as an impartial constitutional institution, as the responsibility of purifying the voter list lies with the Commission, not with any political party.

Pilot said the Congress wants to ensure that the poor, Dalits, tribals, elderly citizens, and those lacking education or information are not victimised by having their names removed from the electoral rolls.

“We will not allow this to happen,” he said.

He stated that the Congress Party is campaigning across the country to ensure that no citizen is deprived of their constitutional right to vote. He urged the Election Commission to uphold neutrality.

“If you work under pressure from any ideology, government, or political leader, it will not be acceptable to the public or to the Congress Party,” he warned.

Addressing the media in Tonk, Sachin Pilot said that with regard to the SIR process, “The Election Commission seems to be repeating in Rajasthan the same haste it showed in Bihar.”

He referred to statements by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister claiming that infiltrators were being protected and their names were being removed from voter lists.

Responding firmly, Pilot said, “If anyone is living illegally in this country, then remove them. But tell us—how many infiltrators has the Indian government expelled in the last 11 years?”

He alleged that as elections approach, the BJP is attempting to cut the votes of the poor, Dalits, backward classes, tribals, destitute, and uneducated, under the pretext of targeting infiltrators.

“The Constitution grants every citizen the right to vote. If someone’s name is removed, there is no greater sin in a democracy,” he said.

Pilot said that the impartiality of the Election Commission, whose foremost duty is to prevent vote theft, is now in question.

He added that Congress leaders, from the Legislative Assembly to the grassroots level, are working to ensure that no citizen above 18 years of age is deprived of their right to vote.

“It pains us to see millions of names being deleted, and most of them belong to the poor. The Congress Party stands firmly with them,” Pilot said.

He warned that if those entrusted with safeguarding the Constitution do not remain impartial, people’s trust will erode.

--IANS

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