Sasmit urges CEC for transparent, error-free SIR

Bhubaneswar: BJD Rajya Sabha member Sasmit Patra on Thursday wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, urging him to ensure a transparent and error-free Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha, scheduled to commence in July.In his letter to the CEC, Patra raised concerns over the identification of nearly 9.8 lakh voters for deletion during the pre-SIR exercise, cautioning that procedural lapses at such scale could impact genuine electors if not addressed properly.Referring to the announcement of the Election Commission of India placing Odisha in Phase III of the nationwide SIR exercise, the MP noted that the state has over 3.34 crore registered electors, making the revision exercise both extensive and sensitive.Patra said issues observed during the preparatory phase, including wrongful identification of electors for deletion, inconsistencies in field verification, and increased objections from citizens, necessitate stronger safeguards before the full rollout.“The objective of maintaining accurate electoral rolls is fundamental to the integrity of the democratic process. Equally, it is essential that eligible electors are not inadvertently excluded due to procedural gaps or verification errors,” Patra wrote.The BJD MP stressed that even minor lapses in such a large-scale exercise could affect a significant number of genuine voters and undermine public confidence. Patra outlined several measures to strengthen the process.He suggested mandatory field verification before any voter deletion, advance notice and opportunity to respond for all voters proposed for deletion, and enhanced supervision in high-deletion areas and stricter monitoring protocols.Patra also suggested time-bound and accessible grievance redressal mechanisms, public disclosure of constituency-wise progress and categories of corrections, and special outreach for vulnerable groups, including elderly voters, tribals and migrants.“Lessons from the pre-SIR phase should be used to plug gaps. Timely preventive and corrective measures would significantly reinforce public confidence in the integrity and inclusiveness of the electoral process,” he said.