WEB DESK
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has become a “puppet” of the Modi government, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal alleged in an interview news agency PTI, claiming that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is “completely unconstitutional.”
Sibal argued that the EC lacks jurisdiction to decide matters of citizenship, especially through local officials. “This entire process is meant to ensure majoritarian governments remain in power. It’s another way to exclude the poor, marginalised, and Adivasi communities from the electoral rolls,” he told PTI.
Criticising the institutional independence of the EC, Sibal said, “Each election commissioner surpasses the last in aligning with this government.” He maintained that he has “never believed” in the EC’s neutrality.
The EC, however, has defended the SIR as a long-overdue clean-up of the voters’ list, intended to remove ineligible and duplicate entries.
Sibal refrained from commenting on the Supreme Court’s interim order allowing the revision to continue, noting he is a counsel in the matter. He stressed the issue’s urgency ahead of the Bihar polls, warning that democracy is at stake if the EC remains unaccountable.