Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Slams Election Commission Over Special Intensive Voter List Revision, Calls it a Challenge to Democracy
Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticized the Central Election Commission’s announcement to implement a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in states including Kerala, terming it a direct challenge to the democratic process. The Chief Minister highlighted that the Election Commission’s insistence on immediately carrying out the SIR process, even after the State Election Officer communicated the impossibility of such a revision due to impending local body elections in Kerala, casts serious doubts on the commission’s intentions. Vijayan asserted that constitutional bodies like the Election Commission should not be allowed to become instruments of the ruling party at the Centre.
The Chief Minister pointed out a significant deviation in the proposed SIR process, noting that the Election Commission plans to conduct this intensive revision based on voter lists from 2002-2004, rather than the currently existing and updated lists. He emphasized that the Representation of the People Act of 1950 and the Voter Registration Rules of 1960 clearly mandate that voter lists should be updated based on the existing electoral rolls.
Vijayan referenced the 2024 Voter’s Day message, “Nothing like voting, I vote for sure,” which was widely propagated across the country. Ironically, he noted, the very institutions that promoted this message were responsible for removing 6.5 million people from the voter list in Bihar. He unequivocally stated that the SIR process, as implemented in Bihar and now proposed for its second phase across other states, constitutes a complete violation of universal suffrage guaranteed to citizens under Article 326 of the Constitution. The Chief Minister stressed that the fundamental right to vote cannot be arbitrarily removed based on political interests.
A growing concern, according to the Chief Minister, is the apprehension that the SIR process is a clandestine attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through a backdoor approach. He added that the criticism alleging that central authorities are using SIR to revise the voter list in a manner convenient to them has not been refuted, which further underscores the relevance of this concern.
The Chief Minister expressed deep concern over the expansion of the SIR process to other states while its constitutional validity in Bihar is still under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. He deemed it impossible to view this move as innocent, arguing that the hasty implementation of a special intensive revision of the voter list, which typically requires extensive preparation and consultation, is clearly designed to undermine the popular mandate. Vijayan urged the Election Commission to withdraw from such decisions, which he believes compromise its credibility.
Concluding his statement, the Chief Minister reminded that the Kerala Legislative Assembly had previously passed a unanimous resolution against SIR. He appealed to all individuals and organizations committed to safeguarding democracy to unite and respond effectively against the second phase of the SIR process.