Anti-CAA committee opposes SIR of electoral rolls in Assam amid SC scrutiny
The Committee alleged SIR aims to strip poor migrant citizens of voter rights, accusing ECI bias
A file image of voters in queue to cast their vote somewhere in Assam. (AT Photo)
Guwahati, August 14: The Coordination Committee Against Citizenship Amendment Act, Assam has opposed the proposed special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State.
In a statement, president of the Committee Dr Hiren Gohain and its chief coordinator Deben Tamuli alleged that more than 65 lakh citizens in Bihar have been affected due to the special intensive revision conducted by the Election Commission of India.
“People are now protesting against the exercise and the matter is now under consideration of the Supreme Court,” the statement read.
The Committee alleged that SIR is an attempt to deprive the poor citizens, who used to migrate to other states in search of livelihood, from their voter rights and the ECI is conducting the exercise at the behest of the Union Government.
Referring to the NRC update process in Assam, the Committee noted that from 2009 to 2019, people of Assam had faced lots of difficulties in collecting different documents to include their name in the NRC list. But later, government rejected the list and introduced the CAA.
“We believe a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Assam will deprive the Muslim people, whose names were included in the NRC, from their voting rights and will grant voter rights to the Hindu Bangladeshi people who are not eligible under the CAA. It will further weaken the Assamese community,” the Committee said in a statement.