CEC Gyanesh Kumar says the ECI is building one of the world’s most accurate electoral rolls. The process involves including all citizens over 18 and systematically removing ineligible names through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Highlighting the robust mechanism of India’s electoral system, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar here on Saturday stated that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is working to prepare “one of the most accurate electoral rolls in the entire world.”
Speaking at the 2nd National Conference of Counsels Representing the Election Commission of India, the CEC emphasised that the electoral machinery is proactively including all citizens who have attained 18 years of age, while systematically purging ineligible names. “All citizens of India who have attained 18 years of age are being included proactively by our electoral machinery, and all those who are ineligible, such as deceased, duplicate, absent, shifted, and foreign electors, are being systematically removed,” CEC Gyanesh Kumar said.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Process
Defending the integrity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Chief Election Commissioner noted that the process has successfully weathered legal challenges and stands as a constitutionally sound exercise. “The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has not only withstood the scrutiny of the highest court in India, but it has also been immensely successful in meeting its constitutional and legal mandate,” he said.
Underscoring the massive scale and transparency of the exercise, Kumar shared that the revision is conducted under intense oversight from both political parties and a vast network of ground officials. “I must also share with you that this Special Intensive Revision is conducted under the close watch of more than 15 lakh booth-level agents, alongside the district and state presidents of all national and state political parties,” the CEC added.
He further informed that the monumental task on the ground is being executed by a formidable force of government personnel. “The exercise is executed by over 11 lakh booth-level officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers… All of them are state government employees on deputation to the Election Commission of India, working together to prepare one of the most, and I repeat, one of the most accurate electoral rolls in the entire world,” the CEC concluded.
Review of SIR in Uttarakhand
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, on May 25, chaired a high-level review meeting in Dehradun to assess preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttarakhand. During the meeting, Kumar said the main aim of the SIR exercise is to verify the accuracy of the voter list by identifying “absent, shifted, deceased, duplicate, and foreign voters.”
He also appealed to voters to provide their latest passport-size photographs during the revision process and cooperate with Booth Level Officers (BLOs). (ANI)
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