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For the past month, a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls has been underway in Bihar. This exercise by the Election Commission will affect millions of voters. Opposition parties and civil society activists have criticised the process, calling it arbitrary and accusing the Commission of acting at the behest of the BJP-led central government. They allege that the aim is to disenfranchise voters who are not aligned with the BJP.
The government is being accused of invalidating key documents like voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards, and ration cards, thereby stripping a large section of the population of their constitutional right to vote.
Host Vishnu Sharma spoke with The Caravan’s senior staff writer Sagar, who has been reporting from the ground. Their conversation makes it clear that the allegations made by opposition parties and other experts are not without substance.