New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Attacking the Election Commission on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the CPI(M) on Wednesday accused the poll panel of implementing the "agenda of RSS", which they claimed was articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech flagging the presence of "infiltrators" in the country.
In a statement issued on Wednesday after a meeting of the party’s Politburo on August 18, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) claimed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar was mired in controversy from the beginning, as contrary to the established norms, the announcement on June 24 was not preceded by consultations with the political parties.
"The SIR prescribed a procedure of house-to-house enumeration accompanied by the submission of a written application together with any one of 11 documents – most of which have extremely low coverage in Bihar," the CPI(M) said.
“In effect, this implied non-inclusion in the roll because this was a de novo exercise in which undocumented citizens were deemed non-citizens and subject to automatic deletion. This was in complete violation of Article 326 and the principle of universal franchise," it alleged.
The CPI(M) said the opposition parties collectively met the EC but were summarily dismissed without any assurance that the situation, which threatened mass disenfranchisement, would be corrected. Consequently, the parties moved to the Supreme Court.
“As many researchers pointed out, a substantial number of those disenfranchised are women, belong to minority communities, or are from poor households. There is widespread discontent in Bihar regarding the exercise," the Left party claimed.
“All the opposition parties have united in opposing this process. The partisan character of the EC, which is implementing the RSS's agenda as articulated by Prime Minister Modi in his August 15 address from Red Fort against so-called 'ghuspetiyas' (infiltrators), must be exposed by campaigning among the people and mobilising them," it said.
The CPI(M) claimed that apprehensions are growing against the EC, a constitutional body mandated to play an independent role, for its “failure” to address the unfolding of massive “vote theft” in one of the Bengaluru constituencies during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“The expose was based on documentary evidence sourced from the EC's records. The CEC publicly treated these allegations with derision, peddling a tissue of lies, further establishing the EC's partisan attitude that clearly favours the BJP,” the CPI(M) said.
The Left party also claimed that the government is not allowing a debate on the SIR in Parliament, and has pushed through many Bills, including the Sports Bill, which infringes on the rights of the state governments, and Bills amending the Mines and Minerals Act and the Nuclear Liability Act, which will facilitate the entry of private and foreign capital into the vital sectors of mineral exploration and nuclear energy production.
The CPI(M) appealed to all parties to oppose these Bills.
Slamming the Independence Day speech of Modi, the CPI(M) strongly condemned the reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“Through this, Modi is attempting to legitimise the RSS, which played no role in the Indian freedom struggle," the CPI(M) said.
“Apart from the anti-people reforms he announced, the prime minister also announced the formation of a ‘Demographic Mission’, which will be used to target and harass Muslim minorities in the name of identifying infiltrators. This is intended to legitimise the RSS campaign portraying all Muslims as infiltrators who need to be pushed out of the country," it claimed.
On the tariffs imposed on India by the US, the CPI(M) claimed they will severely impact India’s agriculture, fishery and MSME sectors, particularly the textile manufacturers, while stopping oil purchase from Russia will increase inflation.
“The Indian government should not succumb to US pressure. Instead, it should focus on diversifying its relations and strive to strengthen multi-polarity,” it said.
On Jammu and Kashmir, the CPI(M) pointed at the "widespread discontent and anger among the people of all regions – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”.
“People should be mobilised to demand the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, along with its autonomy,” it said.