BENGALURU: Civil society groups have accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of undermining democracy through the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Speaking at a panel discussion organised by the Forum for Democracy & Communal Amity – Karnataka Chapter (FDCA-K) and CIVIC-Bangalore, election reform advocates said the SIR violates due process and risks mass disenfranchisement.
Jagdeep Chhokar, founder-trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms, said the ECI had “invented” the SIR despite laws recognising only summary and intensive revisions. He alleged that 2.97 crore voters added after 2003 could lose their voting rights if they fail to produce new documents, handing electoral control to officials and political party-appointed booth-level agents.
“One of the major points of contention is the Election Commission’s recent requirement for proof of date of birth during the SIR in Bihar”, he said.
Retired IAS officer MG Devasahayam, coordinator of the Citizens’ Commission on Elections, called the SIR a “panic reaction” that bypassed established training, drafting, and procedural safeguards. He warned that the electoral process was being “weaponised” and criticised electronic voting systems for vulnerability to manipulation.
He urged replacing EVMs with paper ballots, arguing they reduce large-scale fraud and restore electoral integrity despite minor irregularities. FDCA national general secretary Prof Saleem Engineer said the revision was aimed at excluding voters rather than including them, accusing the Home Ministry of pushing its agenda through the ECI.