‘Names were removed from the voter list only on the basis of doubt’, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa slammed the Central Government.

There is an uproar in the political and administrative circles in the country regarding the special revision of the voter list and the processes related to it. During a high-level citizens’ conference organized on Special Revision (SIR), the country’s former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has raised serious questions on the functioning of the Central Government and the Election Commission. He has bluntly said that names of citizens are being removed from the voter list only on the basis of ‘doubt’, which is completely illegal and against democratic norms.

Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa raised big questions

Addressing this citizens’ conference organized through online medium, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa expressed strong objection to the process. He said that people are being excluded from the voter list only on the basis of suspicion that they are not citizens of the country, whereas no concrete evidence or document is being used as the basis for doing so.

Questioning the priorities of the Election Commission (EC), he said that the institution which was created to include more and more eligible citizens in the voter list in the country, today its priority has become to exclude those voters whom it considers ineligible.

It is illegal to keep ERO out of the centralized system

Ashok Lavasa, while talking about the technical and legal process, said that by law, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are the only authorized authorities who have the power to add or delete names from the voter list. But in this entire process, ERO was not given access to the centralized ‘SIR system’ (ECINET), which was being controlled centrally. Terming it completely illegal, he said that normally there is a provision to appeal against the decisions of ERO before the District Election Officers or the Chief Electoral Officer, but this process has limited the role of grassroots level officials. He also said that never in history have voters been so worried and worried about whether their names will be safe in the list or not.

Actor Prakash Raj’s sharp attack on the Central Government and Election Commission

Famous actor and film producer Prakash Raj also participated in this conference and strongly targeted the Central Government and the Election Commission. Through online posts and addresses, he alleged that the present government at the Center has used the Election Commission for political gains. He claimed that the kind of policies adopted in states like Maharashtra and Bihar to break political parties and centralize data is not hidden from anyone. Prakash Raj said that the way the government is defending the Chief Election Commissioner, it clearly shows how the Election Commission has helped the ruling party. He called upon the citizens and civil society of the country to unite.

Many eminent personalities were present in the conference

Let us tell you that not only the former Election Commissioner and actors, but many other eminent and people from administrative background also participated in this civic conference. Mainly names like retired IAS officer Jawahar Sarkar, former Kolkata Mayor and former Rajya Sabha MP Vikas Ranjan Bhattacharya and former IAS officer Anita Agnihotri were present in this program. All these speakers also expressed their deep concern regarding transparency in electoral processes and protection of democratic rights of citizens.