BLO's death not due to workload, SIR in Kerala will not be postponed, says Election Commission

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court's stand on Tuesday will be crucial in deciding whether to postpone the SIR (Special Intensive Revision of Voters) process in Kerala till December 21 in the backdrop of local body elections. The state government has also demanded that SIR be postponed till the new members of the local bodies take charge on the 21st. The bench comprising Chief Justice Suryakant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi is considering the matter.

The Election Commission has filed an affidavit rejecting the government's claim that conducting local body elections and the SIR process together is creating an administrative crisis. The commission stated that enumeration forms were issued to 98.67% of the people and 81.19% of the forms were converted into digital form.

“Local elections and a special summary revision similar to the SIR were conducted together in 2020. Kerala has not questioned the legality. It is a constitutional responsibility to prepare the voter list. The commission has the discretion to conduct the SIR. Many people have died in the past 20 years. Many have moved houses. It is in this context that the SIR became necessary. The death of BLO Aneesh George in Kannur is being politicised. Allegations are being made without evidence that there is work pressure. Officials assigned to election work are not used in the SIR process,” the affidavit submitted by the State Election Commission clarified.