Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday urged all political parties in Bihar to raise any objections or corrections regarding the draft electoral roll within the next 15 days, emphasizing that the Election Commission of India (ECI) remains open and accessible to all stakeholders.
“Fifteen days are still remaining. The Election Commission calls on every political party – any problems in the draft electoral roll given to them should be brought before the commission by prescribed forms in the next 15 days,” the CEC said.
Kumar made the remarks while addressing concerns raised by several opposition parties about electoral roll accuracy and alleged irregularities.
On the demand for CCTV footage from polling booths in recent elections, the CEC defended the commission’s stance by citing voter privacy concerns. “As for the machine-readable electoral roll, the honourable Supreme Court had already said in 2019 that it could lead to a breach in voter privacy. We saw in the last few days that photos of many voters were used and circulated in the media without their consent. Should the Election Commission share the CCTV footage of our mothers, daughters, or daughter-in-laws?” he asked.
The CEC also clarified that decisions regarding conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and other states would be taken by the three Election Commissioners collectively. “We three commissioners will decide at an appropriate time and announce it,” he said.
The remarks came days after opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, had levelled charges of electoral irregularities, pressing the ECI to release CCTV footage and adopt machine-readable rolls.
