Kerala Becomes First State to Pass Resolution Against Special Intensive Revision

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution against the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s move to carry out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list in the state and urged the poll body to ensure transparency in the process.

The Congress -led UDF opposition, which had earlier voiced strong reservations against the SIR, supported the resolution moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

In the resolution, the CM expressed the House’s concern over the 'hasty move' by the ECI, suspecting an 'ill motive' behind the exercise. He pointed out that there are widespread apprehensions that the SIR is a 'backdoor attempt' to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Citing Bihar’s recent SIR process as an example of 'illogical exclusions', Vijayan alleged it reflects a 'politics of exclusion' that could spread nationwide.

The resolution also questioned the ECI’s decision to implement SIR in poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal while the constitutional validity of Bihar’s SIR process is still pending before the Supreme Court.

Vijayan argued that the hurried implementation of SIR, which requires long-term preparation and consultation, raises doubts about the Commission’s intentions and poses a threat to democracy. He also stressed that with Kerala’s local body polls approaching and Assembly elections to follow, the move appears ill- intentioned.

The resolution highlighted that the last thorough revision of the voters' list in Kerala was carried out in 2002, and it is "unscientific" to conduct the new revision based on that. Moreover, the SIR’s stipulation that citizens born after 1987 can vote only if they present their parents’ citizenship certificates, and those born after 2003 only with both parents’ documents, undermines adult franchise.

Studies have shown such provisions disproportionately exclude people from marginalised communities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, minorities, and financially backward families. Vijayan also demanded that voting rights of non-resident voters be safeguarded and warned that SIR could be misused to revive the Citizenship Amendment Act, which bases citizenship on religion.

The Assembly unanimously called upon the Election Commission to refrain from practices that violate citizens’ fundamental rights and instead conduct revisions transparently. Following minor amendments suggested by members, Speaker A N Shamseer declared the resolution passed unanimously.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s claim that the Chief Minister had not responded to the implementation of SIR in Kerala has been proven false. The draft of the resolution was handed over to the Opposition Leader and representatives of opposition parties as early as September 19. The Congress’s statement, therefore, is nothing but a fabricated lie aimed at misleading the public and grabbing media attention.