The Election Commission (EC)’s ongoing “special intensive revision” of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, which would require about three crore electors (of the total eight crore) registered after 2003 to submit various documents establishing their citizenship, has not only triggered unease among the Opposition INDIA bloc parties but, as reported by The Indian Express, within the ruling NDA in the state. At the same time, the Dalits, tribals, backwards and minorities are nervous that members of their communities would be the worst affected. The Urdu dailies kept their focus on this unfolding big story, which is set to dominate political discourse in not only Bihar but also other states like West Bengal headed to the polls next year.
Referring to the EC’s special intensive revision of the electoral rolls of Bihar, which is slated for Assembly polls in October-November this year, the New Delhi edition of Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, in its June 28 editorial, says the poll body’s unprecedented move to seek proof of citizenship from those registered in voter lists after 2003 is a matter of concern. The EC has announced that this exercise starting with Bihar will be carried out in the entire country.
The editorial points out that in its order the EC has said that each elector will have to submit an enumeration form, and that those who were not on the 2003 rolls, will have to additionally provide documentation establishing their citizenship, which would include their birth certificate if they were born before July 1, 1987, and also birth certificates of one or both parents if they were born afterwards. “The EC’s move has thus imposed a new burden on common people who remain engaged in a daily struggle to make both ends meet,” it says.
The edit notes that the Opposition has expressed serious concerns about the possibility of the exercise disenfranchising a large number of voters, especially those belonging to the underprivileged, backward and vulnerable communities besides migrants, who may not possess all the required documents or those pertaining to their parents. The EC has sought to align its intentions with that of the Citizenship Act, it says.
The editorial also notes TMC chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that the BJP was using the EC to target poll-bound Bengal, asking whether it was trying to “implement the NRC (National Register of Citizens) through the backdoor”.
The daily points out that the country witnessed widespread unrest and protests against the NRC after the Narendra Modi government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Parliament in December 2019. “The memory of those days have still not faded away,” it says, adding that the EC’s move has sparked apprehensions whether democracy is being undermined in the name of ascertaining citizenship. “And if the country’s electors have to prove their citizenship, then should not the government also prove its good intentions?” it asks. “Would voting and democracy only remain a preserve of some select, privileged sections? Deleting voters’ names from the rolls due to lack of certain papers would be tantamount to suppressing the voice of common people, which would pose a question mark on the very existence of democracy.”
SIASAT
With the country marking the 50th anniversary of the internal Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister and Congress icon Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its June 27 editorial, underlines that the Emergency was one of the darkest chapters of India’s history. Prime Minister Modi has pointed out that the Constitution and democracy were violated during the Emergency that subverted our democratic institutions, it says. “The country cannot forget the horrors of the Emergency which was an outrage.”
There are however concerns about the country’s prevailing situation as well, with several quarters, including the Opposition, dubbing it “undeclared emergency”, the daily says. “The manner in which our institutions are being undermined and used as instruments for fulfilment of political objectives is deplorable. Several critics of the government have been sent to jail. Some dissenters have been languishing in prison for years without bail,” it says. “The minority community has been cornered, with attempts to turn them into second-class citizens being stepped up.”
The editorial says the widespread perception is that Central agencies including the CBI, ED, Income Tax have been unleashed by the government to target its rivals in the Opposition. “The Opposition has even alleged irregularities in the conduct of elections, accusing the EC of allegedly favouring the ruling dispensation,” it states. “Rather than strengthening democracy, attempts have been mounted to strike at its roots. A mindset that seeks complete marginalisation of the Opposition is a threat to democracy,” the edit says, adding that the darkness of Emergency should be a lesson for course-correction to brighten our democratic future.
INQUILAB
Pointing to the strained ties between the Congress leadership and four-time party MP Shashi Tharoor, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab, in its June 29 leader, says that none of the top three Congress leaders — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge — seems to have made any intervention to pacify Tharoor, for their own reasons. Tharoor has also refused to blink in this row while continuing to warm up to the Modi government, it says.
After leading one of the multi-party delegations constituted by the government for global outreach on Operation Sindoor, for which the Congress had not recommended his name, Tharoor recently undertook another foreign visit, the editorial notes, referring to his trip to Russia where he met some key faces of the Russian leadership including foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
The rift between Tharoor and the Congress widened over his praise for PM Modi on Operation Sindoor in an article in The Hindu, which elicited a terse remark from Kharge that it was “Modi first and country later” for “some people”. Inquilab adds that in a further jibe at Tharoor, the Congress chief said: “I can’t read English well. His (Tharoor’s) language is very good. That’s why we have made him a Congress Working Committee member.” In response, the edit notes, Tharoor posted a cryptic X post with an image of a bird and a caption stating “Don’t ask permission to fly. The wings are yours. And the sky belongs to no one…” This, in turn, sparked sharp reactions from other Congress leaders.
The editorial says there is uncertainty over how this standoff will play out in the coming days. “No one can say whether it would lead to Tharoor leaving the Congress or the party taking any action against him. Tharoor has been upset over the leadership’s bid to sideline him in Kerala politics, where he is an aspirant for the chief ministerial position,” it notes. “Tharoor should however not forget that the Congress has always rewarded him — from fielding him repeatedly from Thiruvananthapuram to inducting him as a minister in the UPA government, to nominating him to his current role as the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs,” the edit says. “Tharoor is a consummate intellectual, writer and public speaker. He is known for his progressive and secular views. He has been a powerful spokesperson for the idea of India and its Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb (pluralistic culture). Before taking any drastic step, he should ensure that his image is not tarnished.”