CPI(ML) to hold public hearing of voters allegedly affected by Bihar SIR on Oct 1
CPI(ML) Liberation will organise a "public hearing" in Patna on October 1, bringing together voters from at least 10 assembly segments who allegedly lost their voting rights during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said on Sunday.
The announcement came days after Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the SIR exercise conducted in the state last year was carried out transparently and that allegations of irregularities were not supported by facts.
"They (BJP) should come and see for themselves," Bhattacharya said while announcing the programme at a press conference here.
He accused the Election Commission of working in collusion with the BJP and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Bhattacharya also called for a change in the process of appointing the CEC.
The CPI(ML) leader reiterated his party's demand for an immediate halt to the SIR process and sought repolling in places where elections were held after the revision.
He said the party would bring together people whom it claimed had been declared dead or removed from electoral rolls and subsequently could not vote in the Bihar assembly elections. The meeting is scheduled to be held in Patna on October 1.
Bhattacharya also alleged that the party was denied permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and that its members were instead detained at police stations located 40-50 km away.
"We are moving towards a decisive moment. This movement will begin with Gyanesh Kumar and reach Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
The CPI(ML) general secretary also criticised the Bihar government over the law-and-order situation, alleging that it had "totally collapsed" in the state.
The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR exercise in Bihar was conducted in accordance with prescribed rules, with provisions for claims and objections where voter eligibility was in question.
