New Delhi

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar clarified that the machine-readable voter list is prohibited, citing a 2019 decision of the Election Commission that followed a Supreme Court judgment on the matter.

Addressing a media briefing in the national capital, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said, "The machine-readable voter list is prohibited. This decision of the Election Commission is after the judgment of the Supreme Court and is from 2019."

"We have to understand the difference between a machine-readable voter list and a searchable voter list. You can search the voter list available on the Election Commission website by entering the EPIC number. You can also download it. This is not called machine-readable. Regarding machine-readable, in 2019, the Supreme Court also studied this subject in depth and found that giving a machine-readable electoral roll can violate the privacy of the voter," he added.

Meanwhile, CEC Kumar also assured that the officials of the Election Commission of India are working towards making Special Intensive Revision in Bihar a "huge success". He mentioned that the doors of the Election Commission are always open to everyone and the poll body is working together with everyone in a "transparent" manner.

This statement comes amid criticism of the Election Commission by opposition parties over the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state of Bihar.

"The truth is that step by step, all the stakeholders are committed, trying and working hard to make the SIR of Bihar a complete success. When more than seven crore voters of Bihar are standing with the Election Commission, then neither can any question mark be raised on the credibility of the Election Commission nor on the credibility of the voters," CEC said.

Gyanesh Kumar mentioned that the doors of the Election Commission are always open to everyone and the poll body is working together with everyone in a "transparent" manner.

"The doors of the Election Commission are always open for everyone equally. At the ground level, all the voters, all the political parties and all the booth-level officers are working together in a transparent manner, verifying, signing and also giving video testimonials. It is a matter of serious concern that these verified documents, testimonials of the district presidents of political parties and the BLOs nominated by them, are either not reaching their own state-level or national-level leaders, or an attempt is being made to spread confusion by ignoring the ground reality," Gyanesh Kumar said.

He further informed that around 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) were involved in preparing the draft voter list in Bihar. So far, voters have submitted a total of 28,370 claims and objections.

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"SIR has been started in Bihar. 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLA) have prepared a draft list...As this draft list was being prepared in every booth, the Booth Level Agents of all political parties verified it with their signatures...Voters have submitted a total of 28,370 claims and objections...," CEC Gyanesh Kumar said.