NEW DELHI: The opposition on Thursday hailed
Supreme Court's decision to direct the
Election Commission to display the names of voters omitted from the voter list of poll-bound Bihar after special intensive revision.
Hours after the top court told the poll body to display the names on its website, Congress said that the interim order is a "ray of hope" in a "long battle to save the republic."
"The Supreme Court today protected the Constitution of India with its clear, firm, and bold decision," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.
"There is a long battle to save our republic from the conspiracies of the Prime Minister and those beating the drum for him, but the Supreme Court’s decision today in the Bihar SIR case is a ray of hope. This is the first major step," he added.
Congress leader KC Venugopal also hailed the interim order, saying that the ruling is a huge message for the "Vote Chors who tried to use the SIR to distort the electoral process in Bihar."
"The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s ruling on the Bihar SIR matter is a massive victory for democracy, and a huge message for the Vote Chors who tried to use the SIR to distort the electoral process in Bihar. As one of the petitioners in this case, it is heartening that in unequivocal terms, the Court has ordered that machine-readable electoral rolls be made available - in line with one of the central demand of Rahul ji’s press conference. We also welcome the insistence on swift declaration of the 65 lakh deleted names by the ECI which will no doubt go a long way in bringing much needed transparency to the SIR process," the Congress leader said.
"The Court rejecting the ECI’s decision to not accept Aadhar is also a major boost, since in a state like Bihar, Aadhaar is the most widely held document by the poor and marginalised. We see this as an important first step in our fight against the draconian and disastrous SIR process. Our fight to expose the ECI’s malpractices and complicity in vote rigging will continue with renewed vigour," he added.
Meanwhile,
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the Supreme Court has given its approval to the demands which the opposition had regarding the SIR process.
"Regarding SIR, all of us opposition parties have left no stone unturned in fighting this battle, from Parliament to the Assembly, on the streets, or on any platform. Following today's Supreme Court debate and the subsequent interim decision, it is clear that democracy has prevailed. The demands we had regarding the SIR process have today been put into effect by the Supreme Court, which has given its approval to those demands," Tejashwi said in a press conference.
"We were not opposing SIR from the beginning, but rather the process and the information that the Election Commission was trying to hide, which was the basis of our opposition... It has been ordered that the Aadhaar card will be recognised. Additionally, the list of the 65 lakh voters whose names were removed will be displayed at the booth level, along with the reasons provided. Thirdly, advertisements will be issued to inform people about this," he added.
Furthermore, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We welcome the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court given in the public interest.”
"Millions of aware citizens, the
Congress Party, and Rahul Gandhi’s campaign have achieved their first success through the intervention of the Supreme Court," Kharge posted on X.
"The argument by the ECI that AADHAAR is not valid for voting has now been recognised by the Honourable Supreme Court in the SIR case for those 65 lakh people."
"During SIR in Bihar, according to the ECI, the data of the 65 lakh people excluded from the voter list will now have to be made public by the ECI, which will enhance transparency."
"We welcome the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court given in the public interest."
"The fight will continue; we will not let the public’s “right to vote” be snatched away!!," Kharge added.
Earlier in the day, a bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi directed the Election Commission to publish details of 65 lakh voters removed from the electoral rolls after the special intensive revision in poll-bound Bihar.
The top court asked the poll body to display printed booth-wise lists of deleted voters, along with reasons for their deletion, at panchayat and block development offices.
The top court also directed the poll body to accept Aadhaar card as an acceptable document for establishing identity.
"Your list of 11 documents seems citizen-friendly, but Aadhaar and EPIC are readily available...your notice can say that those who have not submitted so far, they can submit their Aadhaar and EPIC also," Justice Bagchi said.
Opposition parties have strongly opposed the ongoing SIR exercise in Bihar, warning it could result in the disenfranchisement of many voters.
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