Chandigarh, Oct 23 (IANS) The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday unanimously passed a resolution moved by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, calling for constitutional safeguards to protect the voting rights of eligible citizens during the revision of electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.  The resolution also urged the Union government and relevant constitutional authorities to ensure transparency, impartial scrutiny of electoral roll discrepancies and accountability in the election process.

Addressing the House, Cheema emphasised that protecting every eligible citizen’s right to vote was essential to strengthening Indian democracy. He said the Constitution was founded on the principles of equality, justice and the supremacy of the people. “Articles 324, 325 and 326 play a pivotal role in supervising the electoral machinery, preventing discrimination in voter rolls and guaranteeing universal adult suffrage,” he said.

Recalling the pre-Independence era, when voting rights were restricted to a select section of society, the Cabinet Minister paid tribute to Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar for laying the constitutional foundation for equal voting rights for every adult citizen.

“The right to vote was a hard-won democratic privilege that enabled the poor, labourers, Dalits, minorities and all sections of society to participate equally in the governance of the country,” he said.

Expressing concern over reports of large-scale deletions of names from electoral rolls and the exclusion of eligible voters, Cheema said the revision of electoral rolls had raised serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process in different parts of the country.

“Public confidence in democratic institutions could be maintained only by ensuring that no eligible voter was excluded and every citizen’s voting rights remained protected,” the minister said.

Referring to past controversies surrounding electoral rolls in Delhi and other states, he highlighted complaints that supporters of Opposition parties and marginalised communities had been selectively targeted.

He called for a thorough and impartial investigation into such complaints, asserting that any deliberate attempt to undermine the electoral process must invite strict criminal action under the law if established by evidence.

Cheema called for an independent, transparent and credible mechanism to examine reported irregularities in electoral rolls and scrutinise administrative conduct under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

“Institutional autonomy, neutrality and accountability of the Election Commission were indispensable to the functioning and survival of constitutional democracy,” he added.

Through the resolution, the Vidhan Sabha urged the Union government and the relevant constitutional authorities to ensure the constitutional protection of voting rights, order an impartial inquiry into reported discrepancies in electoral rolls and establish accountability wherever irregularities were found. Copies of the resolution will be forwarded to the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for appropriate follow-up action.

--IANS