5 months ago
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Countering Opposition charges with respect to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal connected Tuesday (December 9, 2025) asserted that it is the Constitutional work of the Election Commission of India to cleanable up the database of voters, pointing retired that the workout has been held aggregate times since 1952.
Responding to the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s complaint astir the authorities changing the instrumentality regarding the assignment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and chap Election Commissioners (ECs), Mr. Meghwal said the authorities had created a model pursuing a March 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
Intervening successful the statement connected predetermination reforms successful the Lok Sabha, Mr. Meghwal accused the Congress of engaging successful vote chori (theft) since the archetypal Lok Sabha election, accusing the enactment of rigging the predetermination done the invalidation of implicit 74,000 votes to guarantee B.R. Ambedkar’s defeat.
‘EC has ineligible authority’
The Law Minister said the Opposition, including the Congress, blames physics voting machines (EVMs) and the SIR for their repeated defeats, but fails to introspect connected the reasons for their losses
He reminded members that the Supreme Court had upheld the SIR workout successful Bihar and confirmed that the Election Commission has the ineligible authorization to undertake the clean-up of the voters’ list.
SIRs had been conducted aggregate times betwixt 1952 and 2002, but nary specified workout took spot successful the past 2 decades, Mr. Meghwal said. A revision was indispensable to code changes successful the electoral rolls owed to migration and urbanisation, which often led to electors being registered successful aggregate places, helium added.
‘Double standard’
Also intervening successful the debate, Union Minister and Janata Dal (United) MP Rajeev Ranjan Singh said that the Opposition parties question EVMs lone erstwhile they are defeated successful elections. “You won successful Bengal, Himachal, and Karnataka; past the EVMs were correct. But successful Maharashtra, Haryana oregon Bihar, the machines abruptly became faulty? People bash not judge this treble standard,” helium said. “The Opposition parties should instrumentality immoderate escaped tips from Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected however to win successful elections,” helium quipped.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey added that EVMs were archetypal introduced successful the state by the precocious Congress PM Rajiv Gandhi, arsenic a aviator task successful 1987.
‘ECI not independent’
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) person Supriya Sule said the Election Commission of India appeared to beryllium portion of the government, alternatively of being an autarkic authority. “This is not steadfast for immoderate ideology successful the world. It’s shameful,” Ms. Sule said.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) subordinate Amra Ram wondered wherefore determination was immoderate request for an SIR of elector lists, which are updated each year. The Left person besides demanded a instrumentality to ballot papers alternatively of EVMs.
