BJP MP Rahul Sinha lauded the SC verdict upholding the ECI's voter roll revision, accusing the TMC of trying to delay West Bengal elections. He said the ruling endorsed the ECI's exercise and demanded an apology from opposition leaders.
BJP Welcomes SC Verdict, Slams Opposition
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rahul Sinha on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and accused opposition parties of attempting to delay elections in West Bengal.
Speaking to ANI, Sinha alleged that the Trinamool Congress repeatedly approached the Supreme Court in the hope of delaying the West Bengal elections. "See, the Trinamool Congress went to the Supreme Court repeatedly in the hope of delaying the West Bengal elections and that bogus voters would remain in the electoral roll. Along with them, all political parties, including the Congress, supported them," Sinha said.
Referring to the apex court's ruling, the BJP MP said the judgment had endorsed the Election Commission's exercise. "What came out today? Today, it has been straightforwardly stamped in the Supreme Court that the SIR was correct. The work that the Election Commission is doing on SIR should be done," he said.
Sinha also targeted opposition leaders, saying, "That is why today, all the leaders from Rahul Gandhi to Mamata Banerjee, who opposed SIR, should publicly apologise to the people after the Supreme Court's opinion has come out."
Supreme Court Upholds ECI's Revision Process
This comes after the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which was first undertaken in Bihar, holding that the exercise is constitutional, legally tenable and cannot be struck down merely because it differs from the ordinary process of voter-roll revision.
A bench of Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi held that the SIR exercise cannot be declared 'ultra vires' solely on the ground that it adopts a process distinct from the routine revision of electoral rolls contemplated under the statutory framework.
The Court further clarified that the ECI's powers in the process remain limited to determining eligibility for inclusion in electoral rolls and do not extend to ascertaining citizenship status. It held that the deletion of a person's name from the voter list does not divest that individual of citizenship, since citizenship can only be determined by the competent authority under law.
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