KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that around 10.2 million names could be deleted from the state’s electoral roll on completion of the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR).
“The SIR is ongoing and many have already lost their voting rights. I am sad. First 5.8 million names were deleted. Then another few million names were categorized as logical contradictions. I think this number could go up to 80 lakh. About 10.2 million names could be deleted from the electoral roll. I am saddened. First, 5.8 million names were deleted. Then a few more million names were classified as logical contradictions. I think this number could go up to 80 lakh. About 10.2 million names could be deleted from the electoral roll. I am saddened by the SIR,” Banerjee said while addressing a government program in Bhunipore in south Kolkata, the constituency she represents in the assembly.
The Prime Minister’s comments came just three days before the final electoral list was published by the Election Commission. While 5.8 million names were dropped in the draft electoral list published on December 16, another 15.2 million unidentified voters and those with logical discrepancies were summoned to hearings.
“I don’t want to differentiate between the voters of any political party or any community. I just want to ensure that democracy is not destroyed and people enjoy their rights. If the name of any voter is deleted, I am against it. At least four to five days have passed since the Supreme Court ruling. But the work has not begun yet,” he said, referring to the order passed by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in which the Calcutta High Court directed judicial officers to be deployed to reconsider and dispose of around six million pending claims. Unappointed voters and those with logical inconsistencies.
“Around 250 judicial officers, appointed by the Calcutta High Court, started work since Monday afternoon,” an EC official said.
A senior EC official said that the documents of about 114,000 voters could not be uploaded to the polling commission’s data bank before the deadline of February 14.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Additional Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) to hand over documents to judicial officers by 5 pm on Thursday.
“I am not sure how frustrated the voters, whose names have been dropped from the final electoral list, will feel. I pray for them that their voting rights are not taken away. The names have been dropped even after the voters submitted documents (during the hearing),” Banerjee said.
“Once the pending claims are disposed of by the judicial officers, the eligible voters will be registered in the final electoral list. If the final list is already published by then, we will publish supplementary lists to include genuine voters. The supplementary lists may be published even after the polling dates are announced, and up to the nomination date,” said an IEC official requesting anonymity.
