In the wake of BJP ally TIPRA Motha’s demand for a Bihar-style special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tripura, the Congress on Tuesday warned that poor and tribal people might fail to ensure their names on the voter lists if the exercise was undertaken in the Northeast state.
“The Election Commission cannot take away anyone’s constitutional rights. They cannot refuse identity-related documents issued by the Government of India. Excluding names from the voter lists to help a political party is not acceptable. We strongly condemn this. If there is any attempt to conduct an SIR here, we will protest,” Congress state president Asish Kumar Saha told reporters.
Citing TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma’s demand to identify the illegal immigrants through an SIR, Saha said that people belonging to lower-income groups, the working class, and even a major section of tribals might be declared illegal immigrants in the event of such a revision exercise.
“An unusual situation is prevailing in the country. The Election Commission is refusing identity-related documents that are issued by the Government of India. They, in favour of a political party, have taken steps to exclude names from the voter lists based on an SIR. Protests are being held in Bihar. The Congress and other Opposition parties are joining the protests. Initiatives are being taken to implement the SIR in Assam,” he said.
A few days ago, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman told reporters that if a Bihar-style SIR was undertaken in Tripura, the tribals, who form TIPRA Motha’s primary support base, might be affected the most. He said many tribals who live in far-flung hamlets did not have documents sought by the Election Commission.
A TIPRA Motha delegation met the Election Commission in New Delhi last week to push for a Bihar-style SIR in Tripura. This came a week after the BJP-led Government formed special task forces in districts to identify and deport illegal immigrants.
However, Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the drive was meant to identify those who came to India after December 2014, since those who came before that would be recognised by the Government of India as per the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
