Trinamool delegation meets Bengal CEO, lodges complaint over SIR process
Kolkata: As the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began on Saturday, a Trinamool Congress delegation visited the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal and lodged a series of complaints regarding the hearing process.
The delegation also submitted a written representation outlining its grievances and said that officials at the CEO’s office informed them that the letter would be forwarded to the Election Commission of India.
The TMC delegation comprised state ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya, Aroop Biswas and Shashi Panja, along with senior party leaders Manas Bhunia and Moloy Ghatak.
After meeting officials at the CEO’s office, members of the delegation levelled allegations against the Election Commission over the conduct of the SIR process.
State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the revision exercise should be carried out keeping public convenience in mind, but alleged that this was not being followed in West Bengal.
“The way the SIR process is being conducted in BJP-ruled states, it is not being done in the same manner in Bengal,” she alleged.
Bhattacharya further claimed that the powers of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) were being curtailed in the state, which she described as illegal. “We will not accept this,” she said, alleging that the Election Commission was acting at the behest of the BJP.
State Minister Aroop Biswas also made similar allegations, claiming that the Commission was acting under pressure from the ruling party at the Centre.
“The Election Commission is doing whatever the BJP is saying. It is acting like the B-team of the BJP. The electoral office is now functioning like a BJP office, and the central government is repeatedly dictating who should remain voters,” Biswas alleged.
He also questioned why the names of lakhs of people, allegedly deleted from the electoral rolls after the first round of the SIR process, had not been made public.
“We will not allow the name of a single legitimate voter to be removed,” Biswas said.
Senior TMC leader Manas Bhunia alleged that the developments were politically motivated because the Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are in power in the state.
The delegation further alleged that elderly people were being harassed by being called for hearings over minor discrepancies during the revision process.