Farooq Abdullah slams EC for Bihar electoral rolls revision, threatens nationwide protest

SRINAGAR: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday slammed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar as ‘ unconstitutional ’ and accused Election Commission of India (ECI) of attempting to disenfranchise millions of migrant voters under pressure from its political masters. He threatened nationwide protests against SIR.

“The ECI’s move is arbitrary. Over 1.5 crore Biharis are working outside the state, how will they vote? Where will they fill the forms? Where will their photographs come from?” he said.

“This will not be acceptable to the people of India. If they (ECI) go ahead with it, the reaction may be stronger than the recent save-Constitution protests,” Abdullah said, addressing a gathering in Kulgam on the 19th death anniversary of former party legislator Ghulam Nabi Dar.

Dar, among six National Conference functionaries, was killed in July 2006 in a terror grenade blast when he was exiting a local Sufi shrine.