EC admitted 20% would fall off voter list: Congress

NEW DELHI: A day after opposition parties met EC to oppose the special electoral list revision in Bihar, Congress Thursday alleged the poll watchdog had conceded to the delegation that it "assumes" 20% of voters will be weeded out in the review, and termed EC's stance a "threat" to the Constitution and marginalised communities like SC/ST/OBCs. Its ally CPI(ML) Liberation threatened to launch an huge agitation against the exercise, saying the opposition's pleas to EC had fallen on deaf ears.

Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram alleged EC is working on a conspiracy to remove two crore of the eight crore-plus voters, with a focus on migrant workers . Addressing the media with AICC state in-charge Krishna Allavaru and spokesman Pawan Khera, Ram said it is not possible for the poor in Bihar "to produce documents like a birth certificate that they have never had before", that too in 30 days. But EC appeared to have made up its mind and was not receptive to concerns expressed by the opposition, he said.

Allavaru said the same eight crore-plus voters had voted in the Lok Sabha polls a year ago, and now their credentials are being questioned. "Yesterday, EC twice said it assumes 20% of voters will be out of the voter list," he said, adding, "EC should be losing sleep over 2% voters being left out, and here it is talking so casually about leaving out 20% voters".

"There is a conspiracy to target our right to vote given by Ambedkar. EC is supposed to safeguard it but it is just a pawn," Khera alleged, alluding to the governing BJP. "The commission doesn't reply for months when LoP Rahul Gandhi asks for the old voter list for Maharashtra but is ready to prepare a new voter list in a month."

"Why should we approach an intermediary, we will speak to BJP directly," he said.