Owaisi accuses centre of quietly enforcing NRC in Bihar through voter roll changes

AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “secretly implementing” the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Bihar by introducing stricter documentation requirements ahead of the state Assembly elections.

In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Owaisi claimed that the updated voter registration rules—requiring citizens to produce detailed records of their own and their parents’ birthplaces—effectively mimic the NRC process. “The Election Commission is implementing NRC in Bihar through the backdoor,” he said.

He argued that such documentation demands are unreasonable, particularly in economically challenged and disaster-prone regions like Seemanchal. “It is a cruel joke to expect such documentation from poor citizens in flood-hit regions like Seemanchal,” he added.

Owaisi warned that these measures could disenfranchise a large number of genuine Indian citizens and erode public trust in the electoral process. He pointed out that, as per official figures, only 75 percent of births in India are registered, and government documents frequently contain errors.

The NRC, which was first implemented in Assam, left out 1.9 million people from its final list in 2019, raising fears of large-scale statelessness. Though the central government has suggested extending NRC nationwide, it has drawn widespread criticism for potentially excluding marginalised groups, especially Muslims, when considered alongside the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Since 2019, the NRC-CAA combination has triggered massive protests across the country, with critics highlighting concerns over its humanitarian, legal, and administrative feasibility.

While the Election Commission has not officially linked its voter list revision with NRC, the tightening of registration rules has prompted concern from various political parties and civil society groups. Leaders from the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar have also raised objections to the changes, urging the ECI to clarify its stance and ensure no eligible citizen is denied the right to vote.

Activists are calling for safeguards to prevent any discriminatory fallout from the updated procedures, especially given the sensitive political climate and the looming Assembly polls.