Rights groups, including APDR, staged a protest in Kolkata against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging it could pave the way for an NRC-like process in West Bengal.

Rights Groups in Kolkata Rally Against ‘SIR’, Fear Move Toward NRC

Kolkata witnessed a major protest on Saturday as rights organisations, led by the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), marched through the city opposing the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The groups warned that the exercise could be used to question citizenship and strip voting rights under the guise of verification.

Protesters took out a rally from College Street to Dorina Crossing, voicing concern that the process might mirror the National Register of Citizens (NRC) drive. APDR general secretary Ranjit Sur alleged that the SIR demands intrusive details such as parental birth information and spousal data — details not required for regular voter ID registration.

He argued that while maintaining accurate voter rolls is essential, the Election Commission’s current approach goes beyond its constitutional mandate. “This process forces citizens to prove their nationality, which contradicts legal precedent and burdens ordinary people with paperwork they may not possess,” he said.

Rights activists further pointed out that existing voter IDs and Aadhaar cards are reportedly not being accepted as valid proof, raising fears that individuals without complete documents could lose both voting rights and citizenship status.

Analysis: The protest underscores growing unease in West Bengal over documentation-based identity verification drives. For many, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, bureaucratic processes like SIR could translate into exclusion rather than transparency. Experts suggest that the Election Commission must clarify its guidelines to prevent confusion and ensure that no citizen’s right to vote is compromised under procedural pretexts.