“With the Prime Minister’s speech yesterday from the Red Fort, it is clear that this government is bringing a new agenda of Partition with the bogey of ‘infiltration’ and ‘Bangladeshis.’ The Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the MHA circular on ‘illegal immigrants’ and now the so-called ‘demographic mission’ declared by PM Modi are part of a nefarious package designed to divide people and push NRC,” said Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation, addressing a press conference at the CPI(ML) Parliament Office in New Delhi on August 16.
"The Modi government is completing the unfinished and failed agenda of partition by redefining India on the basis of communal nationalism," he added. “While attempts are being made by the United States to turn India into a neo-colony, the Modi regime instead of upholding India’s independence is sowing the seeds of a new partition on the basis of unsubstantiated claims of illegal immigrants.”
Dipankar further pointed out that the SIR has already led to around 65 lakh deletions, but not a single deletion has been shown to be that of a foreign national. This makes it clear that the SIR is being used to disenfranchise citizens while promoting the unsubstantiated bogey of illegal immigration.
Speaking about the secret MHA circular on “illegal immigrants” which was used in widespread attacks on Bengali speaking migrant workers from West Bengal and Assam in Gurugram, he said that the MHA circular allowing detention of individuals in so-called holding centres for 30 days with police verification is a grave threat to migrant workers, the self-employed and minorities. Police verification from places like Assam, where minorities face eviction and persecution, will make this process even more dangerous. Combined with the SIR, it amounts to a backdoor NRC.
On SC Interim Order on SIR
We welcome the interim order by the Supreme Court on Bihar regarding providing reasons for deletions in the draft SIR roll. This interim order directing that the reasons for deletions be shared has exposed the anomalies in the whole SIR process.
It is clear that the Election Commission is shifting the burden onto citizens to correct these errors through Form 6, instead of proactively rectifying its own rolls. With only a few days left and amid heavy rains and floods in the state, CPI(ML) has demanded that the Election Commission set up well-publicised Voter Inclusion and Error-Correction camps at booth and block levels immediately.
We all know the case of Mintu Paswan from Arrah whose name was deleted as dead and was presented at the Supreme Court during the hearing on SIR. Unless we know the reasons for deletions, we will not know how many more Mintus are there in Bihar whose names have been deleted as dead.
Our intervention in the SIR process from the very beginning has been aimed at exposing and challenging it in practice and generating awareness and alertness about the danger of mass disenfranchisement. CPI(ML) will also be organising camps in Bihar to defend universal adult franchise and take up the cases of people whose names were arbitrarily deleted.
ECI Lies
Several INDIA alliance parties including CPI(ML) Liberation through their BLAs and even directly have submitted multiple objections and complaints regarding the arbitrary deletions in the SIR with detailed information. But the Election Commission of India has been faking this data and refusing to show it in their daily press releases on SIR.
In fact, the ECI does not have a specific format for political parties to file objections. Form 6 (for new voters) is the only available option for filing objection in case of deletion. Our party and BLAs have been helping people to file Form 6 along with a covering letter, but still ECI is not recognising these and falsely claims that zero objections have been filed by parties.
INDIA Alliance’s Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar
From August 17, the INDIA alliance will launch the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar. Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav and CPI(ML) leaders will participate. The Yatra will cover 1300 km in three phases, culminating in Patna on September 1. It will highlight not only the massive voter deletions but the wider attack on universal adult franchise, democracy and people’s rights.
Tamil Nadu Sanitation Workers Agitation
We extend solidarity with the ongoing agitation of sanitation workers in Tamil Nadu, largely from the most oppressed Dalit communities, who are facing outsourcing and police repression. We urge the Tamil Nadu government to respect their rights and stand with the workers. In this regard, we will write a letter to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and also to all INDIA alliance parties, urging them to support this struggle and ensure justice for the protesting workers.
Concluding the press conference, Comrade Dipankar appealed to the people of Bihar and India to unite in defence of universal adult franchise, democracy and the legacy of independence. Ravi Rai, CPI(ML) Politburo Member and Delhi State Secretary, and Shweta Raj, Central Committee Member, were also present at the conference.
--Central HQ, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation
