SIR schedule to remain unchanged in Kerala, indicates Chief Electoral Officer

Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar connected Saturday indicated that the docket announced by the Election Commission of India (EC) for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls volition stay unchanged successful the State.

At a play reappraisal gathering connected SIR here, Mr. Kelkar was responding to a request by large governmental parties, including the CPI(M) and the Congress, that the SIR should beryllium halted till the section assemblage elections are over. They besides wanted the work day of the draught SIR rolls postponed from December 9 arsenic it coincides with the Phase 1 section assemblage elections successful the State. Political parties urged Mr. Kelkar to instrumentality up the substance with the EC astatine the earliest.

CPI(M) stance

Mr. Kelkar replied that the EC docket volition person to beryllium followed, which prompted elder CPI(M) person M.V. Jayarajan, who was present, to state, “Then we volition not cooperate.” Later, speaking to the media, Mr. Jayarajan alleged that the SIR was timed to upset the section assemblage elections wherever the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front was poised for a large victory.

Political parties wanted the SIR enactment disconnected until aft December 11 oregon December 13, the respective dates of the 2nd and last signifier of the section assemblage polls and ballot counting day. There was besides a request that the house-to-house enumeration signifier beryllium extended from December 4 to December 30 successful Kerala truthful that governmental parties tin crook their attraction afloat to SIR erstwhile the elections are over.

Mr. Jayarajan was sharply captious of the statistic enactment retired by the CEO’s bureau that adjacent to 85% of the enumeration forms person been distributed successful the State. “It is casual to administer the forms. But it is humanly intolerable to get them filled up and returned wrong the contiguous deadline. How galore forms person been returned to the booth-level officers (BLO) is the question. It is not casual to capable them up,” Mr. Jayarajan said.

Congress concurs

Echoing the concerns, M.K. Rahman of the Congress said that the BLOs are overburdened with enactment related to SIR and the section assemblage polls. He demanded that Mr. Kelkar look into reports that BLOs successful immoderate areas were instructed to study 100% organisation of the forms adjacent if they had not done so. Mr. Rahman besides suggested that the CEO’s bureau clasp peculiar drives astatine polling stations to guarantee 100% enumeration.

BJP reaction

The BJP typical astatine the meeting, J.R. Padmakumar, termed the objections to the SIR “politically motivated.” But helium added that if the workout was so postponed until aft the elections, his enactment “would marque usage of the opportunity.”

The CPI, Kerala Congress (M), Kerala Congress, and RSP besides reiterated the request that the SIR beryllium postponed until aft the elections. They pointed retired that the operational overlap with the section assemblage polls had created problems successful the organisation and postulation of enumeration forms.

The parties besides said that contempt attending aggregate meetings convened by the CEO, the concerns raised by them were not being addressed. Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI, Stephen George of the CPI(M), K. Jayakumar of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and Joy Abraham of Kerala Congress were present.

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