The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which was unveiled by the Election Commission of India last June, has completed a year. Thirteen states, including West Bengal, and Union territories have undergone the SIR — and some of the findings have been revealing, even troubling. Perhaps the most significant of these has to do with the lack of clarity regarding the presence of illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls. This is significant because one of the reasons cited by the EC to conduct the SIR was the weeding out of illegal immigrants from voters’ rolls. The Bharatiya Janata Party, too, has been vociferous in its support for the endeavour: its critics allege that a prejudicial SIR had made the electoral pitch uneven for the BJP’s rivals in Bengal. Another figure must not go unnoticed. More than five crore voters had been deleted from the rolls in these states and Union territories; over 27 lakh appeals for reinclusion are being dealt by judicial tribunals at a sluggish pace in Bengal alone. Another peculiar feature has, arguably, left a blemish on this chapter of the SIR. The EC, for some mysterious reason, has adopted different methodologies in different states. For instance, unlike Bengal, Assam was subjected to a ‘summary revision’ only citing stipulations even though both are border states.

The afterlife of the SIR has been equally discomfiting for those disenfranchised or threatened with exclusion. In Bengal, the BJP government has declared that those excluded from the electoral rolls would be denied welfare benefits. There have been reports of individuals being inconvenienced while applying for a range of civic services, such as passport renewal or access to provisions in ration shops. The law, though, is unambiguous. In its judgment upholding the validity of the SIR, the Supreme Court had made it amply clear that the ambit of the SIR did not extend to determining citizenship and its attendant rights; it was limited to revising the voters' list. The recent letter by the Opposition parties to the chief justice of India also voiced concerns with the SIR as it reaches other Indian states. Neither the compact between State and citizens on welfare nor the latter’s electoral rights must be allowed to get trampled
under a ruse.