Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on July 10 on petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission (EC) in poll-bound Bihar, the Opposition INDIA bloc has called for a Bihar bandh on Wednesday on the issue. Opposition parties and civil society organisations say the SIR may disenfranchise millions of voters, and the row dominated Urdu dailies’ news coverage, which talked about deepening fear among minorities over the “return of the NRC ghost”.
Flagging the controversy triggered by the EC’s SIR move in Bihar just a few months before the Assembly polls, the Patna edition of Qaumi Tanzeem, in its July 3 editorial, writes that while the EC carries out the revision of the voter lists regularly to include new electors and delete the names of the deceased, the SIR is an unusual initiative. “It is clear that more than revising the electoral rolls, the focus of the SIR is to ascertain the citizenship of the electors. This is not objectionable, but the manner in which the SIR is being pushed betrays ill intent,” the editorial says. “It seems the data being collected in the process could be used for an NRC (National Register of Citizens) exercise,” it claims. So the EC’s bid may have serious ramifications for people, especially Muslims because if their names are not included in the voter lists and their citizenship is questioned, they would not have the protection of the Citizenship (Amendment Act) (CAA), which excludes the community from its ambit, the edit says.
Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar had once ruled out the implementation of the NRC in Bihar, the daily notes. “It is disquieting that a measure like the SIR has now been launched first from Nitish’s state. And July 26 is the deadline given for submission of enumeration forms along with the documents, which is a very short timeline for the electors of the entire state,” it says. JD(U) leaders are paying lip service by appearing to assuage the concerns of the minority community, claiming that the government would remain committed to ensure their security and protect their rights, the edit states. “JD(U) minister Vijay Chaudhary says no one should have any objections regarding the EC’s action as it is meant to ensure the inclusion of eligible voters and weed out ineligible ones. It is another matter that his explanation would not cut much ice with the minority community.”
Noting that the Opposition parties RJD and Congress are up in arms against the EC’s move, the editorial points out that Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav has alleged that it was a conspiracy at the behest of the ruling dispensation to exclude sections of the poor and marginalised from the voter lists. Tejashwi has also asked the EC and the BJP-ruled Centre as to how many Bihar electors not registered in the 2003 rolls would possess one of the 11 documents that the poll body has asked them to submit as citizenship proof to establish their eligibility to vote, which exclude the Aadhaar and MGNREGS cards, the edit states. The electors would also have to submit the birth certificates of one or both their parents if they were born after July 1, 1987.
The daily says millions of people from Bihar are forced to migrate to other states to earn their livelihood, which would make it more difficult for them to go through the entire exercise. “This may even result in deletion of many names, most of whom would be from the Dalit, tribal and backward communities,” it says. “Political parties and social activists must challenge the SIR legally. There should also be a strong public pushback against it.”
SIASAT
Referring to the buzz in the ruling Congress in Karnataka about the possibility of a change of guard, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its July 3 leader, says there seems to be a temporary halt to such speculation after the party leadership made it clear that Siddaramaiah would continue as the Chief Minister. The editorial points out that Karnataka Congress president and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar is a leading aspirant for the CM’s post. “Shivakumar’s role in steering the Congress to power in May 2023 Assembly polls could not be denied. He has been a crisis manager for the party over the years, not only in Karnataka but also in other states, despite being probed by central agencies in various cases,” it states. On his part, Siddaramaiah has been a senior and popular Congress leader who has had a vast experience of governance, the editorial says. “Both leaders are essential for the Congress, whose performance and experience give the party strength and stability in the state. However, Shivakumar’s claim to the CM post, echoed by his supporters, has persisted. Following the Congress high command’s intervention, the CM question has momentarily been addressed but not settled, which may come to the fore again. The party’s task thus seems to be cut out — its leadership must resolve the issue before it snowballs into a crisis.”
The daily underlines that Siddaramaiah is a key OBC face in the Congress. “With the Bihar Assembly polls round the corner, the party did not entertain any talks about a leadership change as it would have played into the hands of the BJP. Also, given that Shivakumar has been under the agencies’ scanner, his elevation to the CM position would entail high risks for the Congress, which could not ignore that in the past the CMs of Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) and Jharkhand (Hemant Soren) have been arrested and sent to jail in separate cases,” it says, adding that the party should play its cards cautiously over the tricky matter. “The Congress leadership must hammer out a viable solution by taking senior leaders on board and ensuring that it would not cause disquiet among the rank and file.”
SIASAT
With the language row continuing to be on the boil in Maharashtra, Siasat, in its July 8 editorial, says that it has degenerated into the politics of hooliganism being played by different parties, adding that “the language used by their leaders to fuel the dispute has hit a new low”. It notes that the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government was forced to roll back two government resolutions (GRs), inducting Hindi as the third language in primary schools, after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s MNS launched agitation against it. To celebrate the “victory” of their stir against “Hindi imposition” and to invoke Marathi pride, the estranged Thackeray cousins even held a joint show of unity at a Mumbai rally, signalling the possibility of their alliance in the coming days which could have significant ramifications for state politics, the edit says. “Amid this ‘Hindi versus Marathi’ row, several MNS workers have unleashed violence against non-Marathi speakers, even as some leaders have resorted to coarse and uncivil remarks to target others. This is unfortunate.”
The daily states that while directing his workers not to thrash people for not speaking Marathi, Raj, known for inflammatory comments, has also asked them to “hit such people below eardrums and not make its videos if they create unnecessary drama”. Wading into the row for political gains, BJP MP from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey has dared Raj to step into UP and Bihar, saying he would be thrashed there. Dubey also said if he was “brave enough to beat Hindi speakers, then he should also beat those who speak Urdu, Tamil and Telugu”. The BJP MP even dared Raj and Uddhav to beat Hindi or Urdu speakers in front of Mahim dargah if they have courage. “Dubey’s remarks are also outrageous and betrays his bigoted mindset. This is a bid to communalise the language dispute and further vitiate the country’s atmosphere.”