Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal

Bhopal, Sep 23: Amid the controversy surrounding the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat on Wednesday termed the exclusion of eligible voters a “grave sin” and called for a thorough review of the process.

The controversy intensified after a report in a leading newspaper claimed that two Election Commissioners had “objected on record” to several decisions taken by the poll panel, allegedly without their knowledge. The ECI has denied the report and said differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations, while asserting that final decisions taken by the full Commission over the past year were unanimous.

Speaking to reporters, Rawat said the three members of the Commission should jointly clarify the issue.

“There are different opinions about this. The best thing would be for all three of them (Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner) to sit together and clarify in a press conference what the matter was. If there was dissent, then a decision could not have been taken,” he said.

Rawat said decisions of the Election Commission could be taken either through consensus or by a majority vote.

He also pointed to what he described as mistakes in the SIR process from its initial implementation in Bihar.

“Gradually, the Election Commission improved the process and tried to make it smoother. But recently in West Bengal, the appellate tribunals ruled that 93 per cent of the voters who had been excluded were eligible and should be added back to the electoral rolls. These people were deprived of the opportunity to vote. This is a grave sin,” Rawat said.

He added that an institution such as the Election Commission should ensure that eligible voters are not deprived of their right to vote and called for a comprehensive review of the SIR exercise.

“An institution like the Election Commission should never allow such a thing to happen, and it should now thoroughly review the SIR process so that such a grave sin never occurs again,” he said.

The ECI, meanwhile, said every officer in the organisation was fully authorised to offer suggestions aimed at improving the electoral system. The Commission maintained that written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks and balances were part of the normal decision-making process.

The poll panel said differences of views and observations could arise during deliberations before a final decision was taken. It also stressed that the decision-making process involved not only the three Election Commissioners but officials across the organisation.

The Commission further said that focusing on selected internal notes and observations over a 10-month period presented only one part of the overall process, pointing to the larger body of approvals, decisions, instructions and electoral reforms undertaken during the period.

According to the ECI, all decisions taken by the full Commission over the past year, including those related to electoral roll revision and SIR, were unanimous.