SIR is an issue in Bihar polls, checking citizenship is Home Ministry's job not of Election Commission: Asaduddin Owaisi

New Delhi [India], October 11 (ANI): Asserting that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is an issue in the Bihar assembly polls, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that the exercise carried out by the Election Commission was done in "a hurry" and that checking citizenship is the mandate of the Home Ministry.
In an interview with ANI, Owaisi said that if those whose names were deleted don't check, "you'll see there'll be another uproar on polling day".
He said AIMIM's Bihar unit chief Akhtarul Iman had moved the Supreme Court over the SIR.

Bihar will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, and votes will be counted on November 14. The Election Commission announced the poll dates after the completion of SIR.
Owaisi stated that 65 lakh names were removed in the draft electoral roll, and now the Election Commission has removed an additional 3.5 lakh voters.
He said Bihar is a large state with a vast rural population, and the Election Commission announced the SIR exercise only in June.

"SIR is an issue. On behalf of our party, Akhtarul Iman, the president, personally went to the Supreme Court. If those whose names were deleted don't check, you'll see there'll be another uproar on polling day. 650,000 names were removed. Now, the Election Commission has removed another 350,000...Now, the 350,000 will have to be checked again. What we're saying is, what was the hurry? You could have taken your time," Owaisi said.
"So, there was so much pressure on the BLOs, and the dangerous thing is that they wrote in the notification that if they go to someone's house two or three times and don't find the voter, then the voter will inform their ERO, or the ERO will inform the competent authority under the Foreigners Citizenship Act. So, tell me, how will this happen? So, it has nothing to do with this - it is not your job to check citizenship. So, that is the job of the MHA," he added.
The Election Commission had published the final electoral roll for the Bihar assembly elections last month, following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, while there were 7.89 crore electors as of June 24 this year.
The Election Commission had said in a press release that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, and the number of electors in the draft list as of August 1, 2025, stood at 7.24 crore.
It stated that ineligible electors removed from the draft list stood at 3.66 lakh, while 21.53 lakh eligible electors were added to the draft list (Form 6), taking the total to 7.42 crore voters.
Opposition parties have opposed the manner in which the SIR of the electoral roll was conducted in Bihar.
The poll panel said that regular meetings were conducted with political parties "to explain SIR process and keep them informed throughout".
The Election Commission congratulated the people of Bihar, election officials, political parties, and other key stakeholders on the completion of the SIR.
"SIR exercise was carried out in line with Article 326 of the Constitution and ECI's motto of 'no eligible voter to be left out, and no ineligible person to be included in the Electoral rolls," the release said.
It added that if any eligible person still wishes to apply for inclusion of their name in the Electoral Roll, they can submit an application up to ten days before the last date for filing nominations for the election.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Bihar State Legal Service Authority (BSLSA) to issue directions to its district-level body for assisting voters excluded from the final electoral rolls after the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in filing appeals with the Election Commission of India (ECI).
To ensure free legal aid to the persons excluded from the final voters' list to file appeals against their exclusion, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, said that BSLSA is to issue necessary communication to the District Legal Services Authorities to ensure the availability of paralegal volunteers and legal aid counsels who can assist the excluded persons in filing appeals. (ANI)