New Delhi, Aug 22 (UNI) The Congress today welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue, calling it a “victory for democracy” and a major setback for what it termed the “obstructionist approach” of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Notably, the Supreme Court during the day ruled that persons omitted from the draft rolls could file applications for inclusion online, without the need for physical submission. Importantly, it clarified that an Aadhaar card alone would be sufficient for filing such claims, besides the 11 other documents already specified by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, while reacting to the Apex Court’s direction, said, “The INC welcomes today’s verdict of the Supreme Court on the Bihar SIR issue. Democracy has survived a brutal assault from the Election Commission of India (ECI)”.
He said, “On August 14th, the Supreme Court had intervened to set aside the ECI’s decision to withhold the list of deleted voters. The Supreme Court had directed that the list of deleted voters must be published ALONG WITH the reasons for such deletions”.
“On August 14th, the Supreme Court had also directed the ECI to accept Aadhaar cards as proof of identity for those deleted. Today it reaffirmed Aadhaar as a valid ID that the ECI MUST accept,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He further said that the apex court’s ruling has laid down guardrails to make the revision more “inclusive by including political parties in the process”.
“So far, the ECI’s approach has been obstructionist and contrary to the interests of the voters. We welcome this judgment especially because it gives us an enforceable right which the ECI cannot ignore,” he said.
The Congress leader further said, “Today, the ECI stands totally exposed and discredited. Its G2 puppeteers stand decisively defeated”.
