The Wire Talks | If a Large Number Are Excluded From Voting in Bihar, Entire Electoral Process will be Suspect
Sidharth Bhatia
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The Election Commission’s announcement in Bihar that a citizen should prove his or her credentials to vote has sparked outrage among political parties. They say that a large number of marginalised communities will lose their right to vote.
“It is indeed very problematic. To shift the onus of establishing identity or citizenship on the voter is fraught on principle in a democratic country,” says Dr Ashwani Kumar, senior advocate and a former minister for law and justice and also former Additional Solicitor General.
“What was the justification of excluding Aadhar or Ration Card from the process?” Kumar asked in a podcast discussion with The Wire's founding editor Sidharth Bhatia. He said that there is an element of distrust which has cropped up in the last couple of years. “So the Election Commission now has the duty to dispel to the satisfaction of all concerned that its circular or its SIR will not be exclusionary," Kumar added.
Listen to the full podcast.
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