Kolkata: A row has erupted in West Bengal ahead of the closure of the SIR exercise following reports that unauthorised forms are being circulated to include unmapped voters who failed to submit required documents during enumeration.
According to sources, alleged distribution of such forms in parts of Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas just days before the end of the hearing process has prompted the Election Commission to seek reports from district authorities, even as the Chief Electoral Officer said that no such form was issued by the poll panel.
The hearing process under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is scheduled to conclude on February 14 after which no fresh applications for inclusion in the voter list will be entertained. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said, “The commission has not issued any such form. We have sought reports from the district election officers (DEOs).”
A section of booth-level officers (BLOs) claimed that the unauthorised form requires so-called “unmapped voters” to submit a declaration stating that neither they nor any member of their family possesses a 2002 linkage document or any of the 13 documents prescribed by the EC, but that they have been residing in the area for a long time.
Of 32 lakh unmapped voters statewide, 3.5 lakh failed to attend SIR hearings, per official data. The form also reportedly includes a provision for certification by at least five valid voters of the booth concerned, who must provide their EPIC numbers and signatures confirming that they know the applicant.
Questions have been raised over how such voters can be included in the final list at the last moment without documentary proof, solely on the basis of certification by five individuals. When the matter was brought to Mr. Agarwal’s notice, he clarified that the Commission had taken no such decision.
Sources in the poll body said information about the distribution of such forms had been received from Jadavpur and Hariharpara. BLOs in those areas have alleged that the forms were provided by the electoral registration officers (EROs).
Meanwhile, roll observers at Magrahat in South 24 Parganas district were surprised while verifying enumeration forms, the official said.
It has come to the Commission’s notice that Mohanpur Gram Panchayat in Magrahat-II block allegedly issued a document described as a “blood relation certificate” to certain residents.
“During an SIR hearing, seven children were shown in the form of one Atiar Munsi, a resident of a village under Mohanpur Gram panchayat. The seven ‘children’ were summoned over what was described as a ‘logical discrepancy’. At the hearing, they submitted the blood relation certificate issued by the panchayat, though no such document figures in the Commission’s list of acceptable documents,” the official added.
The ERO concerned has been directed to conduct an inquiry and initiate action, sources added.
