SIR aimed at reshaping politics: Parakala Prabhakar

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Political analyst Parakala Prabhakar on Monday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being used to alter the country's political landscape and warned that large-scale deletion of voters could weaken democratic processes. He claimed that 63 lakh voters had been removed in Bihar, a figure that could rise to 80 lakh after a full assessment, while 90 lakh voters were deleted in West Bengal, 97 lakh in Tamil Nadu, 27 lakh in Kerala and 2.83 crore in Uttar Pradesh. Prabhakar alleged that minorities, Dalits, Adivasis and economically weaker sections were among those most affected and said voter list revisions should be conducted transparently through ward and village-level consultations.

The remarks were made at a state-level awareness seminar on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) organised by the CPI Telangana State Council at Desoddharaka Bhavan in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad. The meeting was chaired by CPI Telangana State Secretary and MLA Koonamneni Sambasiva Rao and attended by former MLC Prof. Nageshwar, legal expert and former Central Information Commissioner M. Madabhushi Sridhar, and other CPI leaders.

Addressing the gathering, Koonamneni Sambasiva Rao described the right to vote as the most powerful tool in a democracy and stressed the need to protect electoral rights. He said the CPI would launch awareness programmes across the state to educate people about the voter list revision process and ensure that eligible citizens were not excluded from electoral rolls.

Prof. Nageshwar called for greater transparency and accountability in the electoral process. Speakers at the seminar urged political parties, activists and citizens to remain vigilant and work collectively to safeguard voting rights and democratic values.