Political parties raise objection to SIR at consultation meeting

 The District Collector’s reference to the Election Commission’s successful completion of the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar—reportedly covering 7.5 crore voters without a single appeal—was immediately challenged by the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and Communist parties during the SIR consultation meeting here on Saturday. 

Members of Congress and Communist parties boycotted the all-party consultation meeting on Special Intensive Revision held under the leadership of District Collector K.J. Praveen Kumar here on Saturday.  

Representatives from 12 recognized parties, including the DMK, AIADMK, VCK, BJP, Congress, CPI(M), CPI, and DMDK, participated in the meeting. 

During the meeting, Mr. Praveen Kumar, through a presentation, briefed the representatives on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. 

He stated that the Election Commission had reported that the SIR was successfully completed in Bihar, covering 7.5 crore voters without even a single appeal. 

Following this, the VCK and Communist parties voiced their opposition to the District Collector, questioning why he had mentioned the successful completion of the SIR in Bihar.  

The Collector responded that he was simply conveying information provided by the Election Commission. This led to a brief period of tension. 

Subsequently, Congress party members walked out, holding placards that read “We don’t want SIR,” signifying their opposition to the SIR.  

They were followed by members of the CPI and CPI(M), who also submitted a petition against the SIR before staging a walkout. 

Mr. Praveen Kumar, however, communicated to the supervisors that the SIR works must be executed in a proper manner without any changes to the basic rules set out for the polling booth officers like Booth Level Officers, and that they must be given repeated and appropriate training and that the works carried out should be regularly monitored and reported. 

He also informed that all Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) must pay special attention to this task, ensuring that no eligible persons are excluded and no ineligible persons are included in the process. 

The official announced the full timeline for the SIR process: Preparation and training are scheduled from October 28 to November 3, followed by enumeration from November 4 to December 4. The draft electoral roll will be published on December 9. Claims and objections could be filed between December 9 to January 31, with final notification decisions due by January 31. The final electoral roll is set for release on February 7.