Bhubaneswar: At a time when several Opposition parties are demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and cancellation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Monday defended the drive describing it as a necessary exercise to uphold electoral integrity and protect voters’ rights. “SIR is a necessary and constructive exercise to uphold the integrity of our electoral system. Its effective implementation, with fairness and due diligence, will help ensure that electoral records remain reliable and that the democratic process commands the confidence it deserves,” he said in a social media post. “The credibility of a democracy rests on free and fair elections and the protection of every eligible citizen’s right to vote.
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Clean and accurate electoral rolls are fundamental to this trust,” he added. The CM’s remarks came hours before the Opposition’s protest march in Delhi. Majhi said duplicate entries, outdated records and the names of deceased per sons remaining on electoral rolls could undermine their accuracy. Maintaining reliable voter lists is, therefore, not merely administrative necessity but essential to safeguarding electoral integrity and public confidence in democracy, he added.
The CM said the SIR helped identify discrepancies, remove duplicate entries, update records following deaths or changes in residence, and ensure that electoral rolls accurately reflected eligible voters. At the same time, he stressed that the process must protect legitimate voters from wrongful exclusion. “These are not minor administrative details; they go to the heart of electoral fairness, equal representation and the sanctity of every vote,” Majhi said.
Significantly, a series of protests have been held in New Delhi recently demanding the resignation of the CEC, alleging that around 13 crore eligible voters had been deleted during the SIR.
