New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- The Supreme Court on Friday expressed dismay at the "inaction" of political parties in Bihar over the exclusion of nearly 6.5 million voters from draft electoral rolls, ordering the 12 recognised parties in the state to instruct their booth-level agents (BLAs) and party workers to actively assist excluded voters in filing claims and objections. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said it was "surprised" that despite appointing over 160,000 BLAs, parties had filed only two objections since the draft rolls were published. "We are surprised at the inaction of political parties. What have they done after appointing BLAs? Why is there a distance between workers of political parties and voters?" the bench remarked. The court directed the presidents or secretaries of all recognised parties in Bihar to file status reports by the next hearing, detailing steps taken to assist affected voters. "Somebody should be there to assist voters. Ultimately, it is their duty," emphasised the bench, impleading the 12 parties through their presidents and directing the chief electoral officer of Bihar to notify them to appear through counsel. "If only the political parties would have realised their duties and assisted the voters, many problems could have been taken care of., the bench said. The bench clarified that those excluded can submit their claims using any of the 11 documents listed in the EC's June notification, "or Aadhaar" alone. It also made clear that physical submission of forms was not mandatory, as both individuals and BLAs could apply online.P8...