No valid voter will be dropped during SIR in Bengal, says EC

Kolkata: The Election Commission on Thursday asserted that no valid voter’s name will be deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, dismissing apprehensions expressed by the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress.

The assurance was given by the CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal after a high-level meeting on voter list revision held at Kolaghat in Purba Medinipur district, where a four-member central delegation, including Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, reviewed the preparations for the SIR.

“No valid voter’s name will be excluded. Whatever is stated in the law will be followed,” Agarwal said.

Union minister and BJP MP Shantanu Thakur has claimed that around 1.2 crore “illegal voters” could be removed from West Bengal’s electoral rolls through the SIR. In response, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has warned that any attempt to tamper with the voters’ list in the name of the SIR would amount to “betrayal of democracy”.

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“Those whose names were included in the 2002 SIR and who are government officials will not be required to submit any documents,” Agarwal said.

Thursday’s meeting was attended by the District Magistrates, SPs, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant EROs (AEROs), Additional District Magistrates, Additional Superintendents of Police, and Officers-in-Charge (Elections) of Bankura, Jhargram, and Purba Medinipur districts.

The EC on Thursday asked the poll officials to remain alert and carry out their duties following the rules without any fear or political threats, a senior official of the West Bengal CEO’s office said.

Bharti gave a clear message that all guidelines issued by the Commission must be strictly followed, failing which legal action will be taken.

“Today at the meeting, the EROs were clarified about their enquiries, and given suggestions. They were also asked to carry out their duties following the laws without any fear and not buckling under any political pressure or threat. All have been directed to work as a team,” the official told PTI.

On the implementation of the SIR in West Bengal, the official said that the dates for the commencement of the process would be decided by the EC and not by the state CEO.

Sources indicate that a formal notification is likely to be issued later this month.

“We believe that the poll officials in West Bengal are skilled enough to handle the SIR of electoral rolls here. That will hopefully make the rollout of SIR here better than in other states,” he said.

Responding to concerns regarding the safety of BLOs, Bharti stated that maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the state government, the source in the poll body said.

However, the poll body will continue its own surveillance and is closely monitoring every step of the process, he said.

The EC central team returned to Delhi after their two-day visit.

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