Recently, the opposition has been raising questions about the removal of millions of names from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. In response, the Election Commission has now decided to take a significant step. On Thursday, during a Supreme Court hearing, the Commission announced that it will publicly share the names of approximately 6.5 million removed voters, organized by booth.
The Commission stated that this list will be made available in a searchable format, allowing any citizen to easily verify if their name remains in the voter list or has been removed.
It was also clarified by the Commission that the booth-wise lists of removed voters will be displayed on the notice boards of the relevant Booth Level Officers (BLO) offices. Additionally, these lists will be available in block development offices and panchayat offices, enabling both rural and urban voters to easily check the status of their names.
It's noteworthy that this decision by the Election Commission follows the Supreme Court's instruction for district-wise lists and clarity on the reasons for the removal of names. The court had stipulated that the removals could be due to reasons such as death, relocation, or double registration.
Following the Supreme Court's directive, the Commission has also stated that this process will offer people manual access to the list, and they will also understand why their names were removed from the voter list, be it death, relocation, or double registration. It will be clearly mentioned in the public notice that if anyone has objections to their removal, they can submit a claim with a copy of their Aadhaar card.
Moreover, the booth-wise list of removed voters and the reasons for name removal will be widely disseminated through newspapers, radio, TV, and other mediums, so more people can learn about it and exercise their rights in a timely manner.
