7 months ago
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has again raised her transportation against the peculiar intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged that Election Commission (EC) officials were “threatening” officers of her authorities and “acting nether governmental influence” adjacent earlier the announcement of Assembly canvass dates.
Speaking astatine the State Secretariat, Ms. Banerjee said she volition not tolerate specified a situation. She besides accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “playing with fire” successful the sanction of SIR. “There are attempts to behaviour a National Register of Citizens (NRC) successful the garb of SIR successful the State,” Ms. Banerjee said.
‘NRC successful disguise’
Ms. Banerjee said notices from the Foreigners’ Tribunals of Assam are being issued to citizens of West Bengal amid the festival season. “This SIR is not what it appears. It is being utilized arsenic a screen to transportation retired an NRC-type process successful West Bengal,” Ms. Banerjee said.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the names of astir 1 crore voters volition beryllium deleted if the SIR is carried retired decently successful West Bengal.
Addressing a property conference, Mr. Adhikari said determination has been a alteration successful demography successful the districts of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh due to the fact that of the unwillingness of the Trinamool Congress authorities to springiness onshore to BSF to erect barbed ligament fencing. He claimed that 540 km of borderline with Bangladesh is lying unfenced.
Mr. Adhikari claimed that the mean nationalist complaint of maturation of voters betwixt 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2024 Lok Sabha polls was 7% whereas the complaint of summation of voters successful definite Assembly constituencies of West Bengal was good supra the nationalist average. He said the summation of voters successful Rajarhat Gopalpur Assembly spot was 28%, Domkal 30% and Jalangi 28%.
While Rajarhat is located successful northbound eastbound fringes of Kolkata, Domkal and Jalangi Assembly seats are successful State’s Murshidabad district. The BJP person besides expressed concerns implicit the information of BLO ( Block Level Officers) during the SIR successful the State.
Meanwhile, the EC has stepped up activities for conducting SIR with a bid of meetings implicit the past fewer days. On Wednesday, a squad from the ECI led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti assessed the State’s readiness for conducting SIR. The ECI squad held a bid of meetings successful Kolkata, Rajarhat-Gopalpur, and Barasat with District Electoral Officers and Booth Level Officers (BLOs). On Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal Manoj Agarwal held a gathering with officials of 3 districts.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Agarwal said these meetings are to measure SIR preparedness successful the State. . The CEO did not accidental arsenic to however overmuch clip it volition instrumentality to behaviour it but added that the workout indispensable beryllium completed earlier the announcement of the Assembly election. Mr. Agarwal said that the workout was completed successful 3 months successful Bihar.
Sources successful the bureau of the CEO said the notification for holding SIR successful the State is expected anytime aboriginal this month. West Bengal volition spell for Assembly predetermination successful 2026.
