Bengal SIR: ECI rejects Trinamool harassment claims over hearing notices to India pacer Shami, party MP Dev

Kolkata, Jan 7 (LatestNewsX) The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday rejected the claims made by the Trinamool Congress that notices for appearance at hearing sessions on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list, served to the party’s Lok Sabha member and actor-turned-politician Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev, and cricketer Mohammed Shami, were a deliberate ploy to harass them.

In a statement issued by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, on Wednesday evening, it was clarified that both Dev and Shami had been summoned for hearings because the enumeration forms submitted by them showed that the linkage columns had been left blank.

“The claim is misleading. The enumeration form clearly shows that the linkage columns have been left blank by the elector. He has therefore been called for hearings along with all other similarly placed electors as per the notification of the ECI,” said the statement issued by the CEO’s office, which was also posted on the wall of its official social media handle.

This clarification indicates that both Dev and Shami were summoned for hearings as “unmapped voters”.

Information about the hearing notices being served to Dev and Adhikari surfaced on January 5. Since then, the Trinamool Congress has been claiming that the issuance of notices to both was intended to harass them.

The ruling party had been particularly vocal about the notice served to Dev and his family members, questioning how a notice could be issued to a three-time Lok Sabha member from the Ghatal constituency in West Midnapore district.

Similarly, the Trinamool Congress had claimed that the hearing notice served to Shami amounted to harassment of a sportsperson who had served Indian cricket for several years.

Finally, on Wednesday, the ECI issued a clarification explaining the reasons why Dev and Shami had been summoned for hearings under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision process.

src/pgh