The Congress on Tuesday dismissed the Election Commission's latest clarification on Form 6 as another set of "word games" that clarifies nothing, asserting that no amount of damage control could rectify the "flawed" Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
The opposition party also said the EC cannot address the real problem that the SIR of electoral rolls is "designed for exclusion".
This comes shortly after the EC said previously enrolled voters can submit Form 6 for inclusion as electors if their names are missing from draft SIR rolls.
The EC clarification came amid concerns among those whose names have been deleted from draft SIR rolls that submitting Form 6, which carries a declaration that the applicant is seeking inclusion in the voters' list for the first time, could amount to making a false declaration and invite prosecution under the Representation of the People Act.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The ECI's latest 'clarification' on Form 6 is another set of word games that clarify nothing. Each damage control attempt shows how badly designed the SIR process is."
The Form 6 declaration plainly asks if you are "applying for inclusion for the first time", he said.
"The ECI's clarification: voters applying for re-inclusion during SIR can also be considered first-time. This is another deceptive word game to cover up a flawed process asking voters to make a false declaration," Ramesh argued.
After asking voters to sign a false declaration, the ECI is now giving them protection from legal consequences, the Congress leader said, adding that this is how poorly thought through the SIR process has been.
"The Maharashtra CEO wrote to the ECI arguing that Form 6 cannot be used in this way. There is an ongoing case on the issue, where the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has interrogated the logic given by the ECI which leaves out absent and shifted voters," the Congress leader said.
The EC cannot address the real problem that the SIR is "designed for exclusion", he said.
"It deletes voters first, and then asks them to apply for re-inclusion as new voters. No amount of damage control can fix this flawed process. SIR needs to be stopped," Ramesh said.
In a letter to all state chief electoral officers, the EC said that it has been brought to its notice that certain people whose names do not figure in the draft electoral roll published during the ongoing SIR are hesitant to submit Form 6 as they are also required to furnish a declaration prescribed in the form to the effect that their name is being included in the electoral rolls for the first time.
"Therefore, such electors believe that submission of Form 6, in view of their previous enrolment, would amount to making a false declaration and render them liable for prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950," it said.
The EC clarified that voters whose names do not figure in the draft SIR rolls can submit Form 6 to seek fresh inclusion in the final voters' list, even if they were enrolled previously.
The poll authority said the submission of Form 6 in cases where the name was deleted from the draft SIR roll would not, by itself, constitute a false declaration.
(With inputs from PTI)
