Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Descent into farce: On the Election Commission of India, the SIR

Descent into farce: On the Election Commission of India, the SIR

Ad hoc changes and poor implementation mar the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls

The Election Commission of India (ECI)’s Special Intensive (गहन, तीव्र) Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories (UT) is fast descending into a farce. Take the case of West Bengal, where furore over elderly residents having to attend eligibility hearings in remote locations even after submitting their enrolment forms forced the ECI to order home verification. Or, the fact that it had to conditionally halt (रोकना, विराम) hearings of “unmapped” voters (those whose names or parents’ names were not mapped with the 2002 SIR). Summons were in the form of software notices, but this software was not used in Bihar. An association of civil servants complained that this “suo motu (On its own motion; an action taken by a court of its own accord without a formal petition) system-driven deletion of electors from the draft electoral rolls in West Bengal in the ongoing SIR process [bypassed] the statutory (वैधानिक) role of the [Electoral Registration Officers]”. The procedural chaos (अराजकता, अव्यवस्था) could have been avoided had the ECI not rushed into the SIR just before Assembly elections in States/UTs such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. Its ad hoc use of software — the ECI junked its de-duplication software in Bihar and told the Supreme Court why it was not using it, but reportedly used it alongside another software to flag “unmapped” voters without proper protocol — is creating confusion and distress (संकट, कष्ट). The suspicion (संदेह) that the ECI is using an exercise of updating electoral rolls as a de facto citizenship screening exercise seems to be confirmed by the manner in which it is going about things.

There are inconsistencies and anomalies (विसंगति) in the draft electoral rolls, many of which have been flagged by The Hindu’s data-driven investigations. The over 6.5 crore deletions, according to provisional numbers, suggest methodological problems in and poor implementation of the exercise. In Uttar Pradesh, provisional figures show that 2.89 crore names have been deleted, which could possibly explain why the ECI has postponed publication of the draft roll to January 6. In Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which are relatively urbanised States with net in-migration of electors, 97 lakh and 73.7 lakh electors, respectively, have been taken off the draft rolls. That both States have since seen the furious (उग्र, आगबबूला) inclusion of lakhs of names — added incomprehensibly as fresh additions in another procedural flaw — suggests that the enumeration phase was concluded haphazardly (बेतरतीब ढंग से). This situation could have been avoided had the Court gone beyond limited interventions — which were salves for Bihar electors — to properly vet the new SIR procedure for constitutionality. It is still not too late for the Court to take note of the infirmities (दुर्बलता, कमजोरी) and to decide firmly in favour of the electorate. The fate of the very idea of universal adult franchise hangs in the balance.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Intensive (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – गहन, तीव्र
English Meaning – Concentrated on a single area or subject or into a short time; very thorough.

2.Halt (Verb)

Hindi Meaning – रोकना, विराम
English Meaning – Bring or come to an abrupt stop.

3.Statutory (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – वैधानिक
English Meaning – Required, permitted, or enacted by statute (law).

4.Chaos (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – अराजकता, अव्यवस्था
English Meaning – Complete disorder and confusion.

5.Distress (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – संकट, कष्ट
English Meaning – Extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain; the state of a ship or aircraft needing help.

6.Suspicion (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – संदेह
English Meaning – A feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true, especially something wrong.

7.Anomaly (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – विसंगति
English Meaning – Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.

8.Furious (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – उग्र, आगबबूला
English Meaning – Extremely angry; full of wild intensity.

9.Haphazardly (Adverb)

Hindi Meaning – बेतरतीब ढंग से
English Meaning – In a manner lacking any obvious principle of organization.

10.Infirmity (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – दुर्बलता, कमजोरी
English Meaning – Physical or mental weakness, especially that caused by old age.

11.Farce (Noun)

English Meaning – An absurd event; a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay.

12.Suo motu (Adjective)

English Meaning – On its own motion; an action taken by a court of its own accord without a formal petition.