A day after he was shot a showcause notice by his party for criticising the Election Commission (EC) over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, JD(U) MP Giridhari Yadav tells Preetha Nair he hasn’t breached the party line. Excerpts:
Do you think you crossed the party line by criticising the SIR?
My party supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hasn’t made any comment on the SIR yet. Then how can one say that I have deviated from the party’s position? Ours is a one-leader party and there is no leader other than Nitish Kumar. All others are equal and I am as senior as any of them. I have stayed with the party all along, unlike some who are playing the ‘Aaya ram gaya ram’ act.
But the party has sent you a showcause notice...
The party has the right to do so. However, I don’t know if the notice is signed by the national president or not. It has been sent by the party general secretary and I am not aware if the central leadership supports the showcause notice. The party has given me 15 days to answer. I will talk it after submitting my answer.
Why did you criticise the SIR exercise?
The EC should have consulted all political parties before taking such a big decision. EC should be seen as non-partisan. If they had consulted all parties, this criticism of timing shouldn’t have risen. Several parties, including the BJP, are criticising the timing of the exercise. EC is a Constitutional body.
Voters have total faith in it. My criticism is about the timing of the move. It should have been done in summer. This is the farming season in Bihar and people are busy with agricultural work. Also, it is the monsoons and there can be unexpected floods. Besides, how can migrant workers in other states submit their documents in such short notice?
There are concerns that the SIR is ‘citizenship screening’ and would snatch away citizenship...
The EC has to understand that the issue of citizenship falls under the home ministry and it is not their job.
Do you think Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards should be accepted as documents for SIR?
Yes of course, these documents should be accepted as documents for the SIR exercise. How can the voter prove their eligibility without these documents? The SC has also asked the EC to consider Aadhaar as a valid document in electoral roll revision. The EC should listen to SC’s directions.
But the EC told the SC that Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards are not acceptable as standalone documents for the SIR...
In my opinion, there is no better evidence than the Aadhaar and Voter ID for the SIR. The Commission can order a probe if there are any discrepancies in Aadhaar and Voter IDs if they find any irregularities. The EC has the power to do so. The EC can call upon gram sabhas to weed out if there are any foreigners.