Amid opposition to SIR drive in Bihar, plea in SC for similar revision in every state

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Amid a string of petitions filed in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in Bihar, Delhi BJP leader and noted lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a plea in the Apex Court in support of the drive and demanded that such an exercise should be undertaken in every state, heading to elections.

He said that such intensive revision was the need of the hour to ensure that the sanctity of the voters' list remains intact and they don’t get influenced by illegal immigrants from other nations.

Upadhyay, speaking to IANS, said that he has sought the court’s directions to the respective institutions for carrying out an intensive revision of electoral rolls in every state and Union Territory, going to the polls.

He said that India is currently home to more than 5 crore illegal migrants, with residents of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Rohingyas infiltrating into the country and settling in with fake and forged documents.

"If they get the voting rights, this will lead to dilution of legitimate votes and allow the infiltrators the right to interfere in the democratic process," he said.

Notably, this comes in the backdrop of a clutch of petitions filed in the Apex Court by Opposition parties and some NGOs, claiming that the poll panel’s SIR drive is discriminatory and divisive. They also accused the EC of trying to disenfranchise lakhs of voters with this initiative.

In the context of the Bihar elections, Ashwini Upadhayay said that Seemanchal, the area bordering Bihar, has seen a huge influx of Bangladeshis over the years, and today, the demography of the whole area has changed.

“Every constituency of the state is reported to have seen an influx of about 8,000-10,000 illegal migrants. In every constituency, there is a discrepancy of about 2,000-3,000 votes, and this could have a serious impact on electoral outcomes because the victory margin in many districts sometimes gets reduced to mere hundreds in numbers.

He also demanded that those governments which ‘allow’ illegal immigration should be put on notice.

“Unless the protectors of infiltrators are tried against the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and National Security Act (NSA), such brazen violation of norms will continue,” he remarked.

--IANS

mr/uk