New Delhi- The Congress on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying it has safeguarded democracy from what it termed as a “brutal assault” by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said, “The INC welcomes today's verdict of the Supreme Court on the Bihar SIR issue. Democracy has survived a brutal assault from the Election Commission of India (ECI).” Ramesh highlighted key directives issued by the apex court during the course of the hearings.

He said on August 14, the court set aside the ECI’s decision to withhold the list of deleted voters and ordered that such lists must be published along with reasons for deletion. The court, Ramesh said, also directed the ECI to accept Aadhaar cards as valid proof of identity for voters whose names were deleted. “Today, it reaffirmed Aadhar as a valid ID that the ECI MUST accept. Today Supreme Court has laid down guardrails to make the revision more inclusive by involving political parties in the process,” Ramesh said.

He accused the ECI of adopting an “obstructionist approach” and acting against the interests of voters. “So far, the ECI's approach has been obstructionist and contrary to the interests of the voters. We welcome this judgment especially because it gives us an enforceable right which the ECI cannot ignore,” he added. The Congress leader said, “Today, the ECI stands totally exposed and discredited. Its G2 puppeteers stand decisively defeated.”

In its latest order on Friday, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to accept online claims for inclusion in the voter list. It also asked political parties and their booth-level agents (BLAs) to assist voters who were unable to submit their enumeration forms, leading to deletions from the rolls. Further, the court clarified that claim forms could be filed using any of the 11 documents already notified by the ECI, or Aadhaar. (IANS)