Amid opposition parties' raging criticism over the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday tried to connect the removal of around 65 lakh names from the voters' list to reports suggesting the addition of around 6. 5 lakh voters in Tamil Nadu.
Stating that the SIR of electoral rolls exercise is getting "curiouser and curiouser," the former home minister alleged that the Election Commission is trying to change the electoral character and patterns of states, and asserted that this "abuse of powers" must be fought politically and legally.
"While 65 lakh voters are in danger of being disenfranchised in Bihar, reports of 'adding' 6.5 lakh persons as voters in Tamil Nadu is alarming and patently illegal," Chidambaram said in a post on X.
"Calling them 'permanently migrated' is an insult to the migrant workers and a gross interference in the right of the electorate of Tamil Nadu to elect a government of its choice," he wrote.
"Why should the migrant worker not return to Bihar or his/her home state to vote in the State Assembly election, as they usually do. Does not the migrant worker return to Bihar at the time of the Chhath puja festival?" the Rajya Sabha MP asked.
"A person to be enrolled as a voter must have a fixed and permanent legal home. The migrant worker has such a home in Bihar (or another state). How can he/she be enrolled as a voter in Tamil Nadu?" Chidambaram said.
If the migrant worker's family has a permanent home in Bihar and lives in Bihar, how can the migrant worker be considered as "permanently migrated" to Tamil Nadu, he further asked.
"The ECI is abusing its powers and trying to change the electoral character and patterns of States. This abuse of powers must be fought politically and legally," Chidambaram said.
Responing to Chidambaram's allegations, the Election Commission slammed his statements as "misleading and baseless."
According to Article 19(1)(e), all citizens shall have the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India, it said, As per Section 19(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, every person who is an ordinary resident in a constituency shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll of that constituency, it said, adding it is for the voters to come forward and get registered in the constituency they are eligible for.
"Therefore, a person originally belonging to Tamil Nadu, but is ordinarily residing in Delhi, is entitled to be registered as an elector in Delhi. Similarly, a person originally belonging to Bihar, but is ordinarily residing in Chennai, is entitled to be registered as an elector in Chennai," EC said in a post on X.
It said there is "no need" for political leaders to "spread false information with respect to the SIR exercise being conducted by EC at the national level.
"It has come to the notice of the ECI that such information is being deliberately peddled in the media with a view to obstruct the exercise. As far as voters who have permanently shifted from Bihar to other states and are ordinarily resident in those states, the exact figures can be known only after the SIR has been conducted," it said.
The Constitution, read with the RP Act 1950, envisages enrollment of voters with respect to the constituency in which they are ordinarily resident.
It is for the voters to come forward and get enrolled in the constituency where they are eligible, it said.
"But, it is noticed that some false figures are being floated about the enrollment of 6.5 lakh voters in Tamil Nadu. SIR has not yet been rolled out in TN It is therefore absurd to connect the SIR exercise in Bihar with TN," it underlined.
