There has once again been a big upheaval in the country's politics regarding the revision campaign of voter lists i.e. Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The country's well-known senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has raised serious questions on the impartiality of the Election Commission and its functioning. Sibal said in a strong tone that through this entire process, names of legitimate citizens of the country are being removed from the voter list on a large scale, which is a direct attack on the principle of fair elections. He satirized the functioning of the Commission and said that it seemed as if the constitutional institutions were working entirely on a political whim. Full form of the word 'SIR' and target on the Prime Minister While answering questions during a legal program organized in Kochi, Kerala, Kapil Sibal coined a new political definition of the word 'SIR'. He sarcastically said that in today's times the real meaning of 'SIR' is – "Sir, we will do exactly as you say.". Here his direct reference was towards the Prime Minister of India and the ruling party. Sibal alleges that instead of working like an independent constitutional body, the Election Commission is now only following the instructions of the ruling party and under the guise of making the process transparent, the rights of common voters are being violated. Sensational claim of deletion of names of his sister, judges and soldiers: Kapil Sibal made a very shocking revelation in this matter and said that his own sister's name has also been deleted from the voter list without any concrete reason. He said that this is not an isolated or isolated case, but names of diplomats representing India in foreign service, serving army personnel and even former judges have been found missing from the voter list. Questioning the rights of Booth Level Officers (BLO), Sibal said that a school teacher has been given the right to write 'D' i.e. Doubtful in front of the name of any citizen without any basis and snatch his right to vote. BLO process and ground truth of doubtful voters The senior lawyer highlighted the procedural flaws and said that never since 1950, Indian citizens had to go through such complex processes to prove their citizenship and voting rights. Neither is any notice given to any voter before declaring him 'doubtful' nor is he told the reason for the same. When people's names are deleted, they have to fill the form to get their names added again. The social condition of India is such that poor, deprived and people living in remote areas are unable to muster the courage to fill the form again due to fear of administrative hassles and harassment. Allegations of targeting specific communities and role of judiciary Kapil Sibal also alleged that through this process of voter list revision, names of specific sections and communities of the society are being targeted and their names are being removed on a large scale. He said that every common citizen cannot go to the Supreme Court and plead for protection of his voting rights because they do not have the legal means and resources available for this. He did the whole process "contaminated" Giving the agreement, he said that unless such irregularities are stopped immediately, it will be very difficult for the democratic processes in the country to remain transparent.
