Jaipur (Rajasthan), July 12: Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has sharply criticised the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling the move politically motivated and impractical ahead of elections.
Gehlot referred to a Supreme Court observation, stating that even the judiciary doesn’t hold the level of authority being exercised by the EC. “What bigger taunt can there be?” he remarked.
Taking aim at the BJP-JD(U) alliance, he claimed that the public mood in Bihar favors the INDIA bloc and suggested the revision exercise was an attempt to alter the outcome. “The EC is surveying two crore people just months before elections — it’s impossible,” Gehlot said.
On ticket distribution in Bihar, Gehlot assured that “everything will happen smoothly.”
He also supported Rahul Gandhi’s concerns about EC practices, referencing claims that longtime voters’ names were being cut from electoral rolls under the guise of revision. “If it was about adding names, people may have accepted it. But this is unacceptable,” he said.
Gehlot also criticised the misuse of institutions like the CBI and ED, adding, “Democracy is weakening, and public trust is eroding.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has allowed the EC to continue the SIR in Bihar but asked the commission to consider accepting Aadhaar, ration cards, and Voter IDs as valid proof of identity. The next hearing is set for July 28, and the ECI has been asked to file an affidavit within a week.
The petitions challenging the EC’s June 24 directive were filed by RJD MP Manoj Jha, ADR, PUCL, Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and ex-MLA Mujahid Alam. They claim that requiring citizenship proof and excluding common documents like Aadhaar will disproportionately affect poor and rural voters.