Kolkata: Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its decision to carry out a fresh revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling the move “sudden” and “discriminatory.”
In a post on social media platform X, Ghose directed a series of ten pointed questions at the ECI, accusing it of undertaking a “showy act of so-called fact checking” instead of addressing concerns around the revision process. She questioned why the ECI had ordered a fresh revision barely six months after it had already completed an update of the Bihar rolls in January 2025.
Ghose highlighted that the current drive, being undertaken during monsoon season, disproportionately affects Bihar’s large mobile and migrant population. “What happens to the poor who cannot meet your hurried deadlines?” she asked, expressing fears of disenfranchisement.
A major concern raised was the ECI’s directive requiring voters registered post-2003 to submit fresh documents to retain voting rights. “Are you suggesting that those who voted in the last five state Assembly and five general elections since 2003 were fraudulent voters?” Ghose asked.
She also questioned the authenticity and inclusivity of the process, pointing out that many of the documents the EC has asked for do not even show date or place of birth. “Then why are you asking for these documents?” she asked, suggesting that this could lead to exclusion of legitimate voters.
Taking aim at the EC’s long-standing promotion of Aadhaar as a valid ID, Ghose asked why it was now being deemed inadequate for verification.
Raising doubts over the objective behind the exercise, she questioned whether the EC was overstepping its mandate by conducting what she implied was a de facto citizenship verification drive.
“Are you preparing a citizens register/NRC (not your job!) or genuinely purifying the electoral rolls?” she asked.
Her post ended with a jibe at the EC’s acronym “SIR,” asking whether it stood for “Special Intensive Revision or the Big Boss you take orders from?”