NEW DELHI: In a passionate defence of India's electoral integrity, Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha and Union Minister J.P. Nadda asserted that purifying voter lists is the Election Commission's core constitutional mandate, ensuring only citizens vote while no eligible voter is excluded.
Speaking during the ongoing debate on electoral reforms, Nadda reminded the House that citizenship is the primary criterion for inclusion in the electoral rolls.
He described the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as a routine democratic exercise, historically conducted in years like 1952-56, 1957, 1961, 1965-66, 1983-84, 1987-89, 1992-93, 1995, 2002-04 -- mostly under Congress-led governments, except one under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Nadda questioned the need for alarm, noting persistent issues like unrevised entries for migrated individuals or outdated records.