SIR in Bengal: ECI dismisses Trinamool leader’s allegations of deliberately summoning her family members (Lead)
Kolkata, Dec 27 (IANS) – The Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied the accusations raised by four‑time Lok Sabha MP and current Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, that the commission had deliberately summoned four of her relatives for a hearing on criticisms against the draft voters’ list in West Bengal to harass them.
Earlier that morning, Ghosh Dastidar told reporters that her two sons, her elderly mother and her younger sister had been called to a hearing, and she alleged that the summons were a targeted effort because of their family ties.
In response, the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) issued a statement on its X account dismissing the allegations as baseless. The statement, released in the afternoon, said:
> “The Claim is misleading. The Enumeration forms clearly show that there is no linkage. So they (Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP’s family members) are called for a hearing as per relevant provisions of the notification of ECI”
The CEO’s office clarified that the relatives were summoned for a hearing as “unmapped” voters, since none of them were linked to the 2002 voters’ list through “self‑mapping” or “progeny‑mapping.” It added that the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal was carried out in 2002.
Ghosh Dastidar had earlier stated that the notices were issued because her family members’ names did not appear on the draft voters’ list released on December 16. She insisted that her two sons, who are government servants, and her mother and sister were summoned solely to be present at the hearing on the draft list, and she described the process as a harassing exercise under the guise of SIR. She said:
> “Both my sons are government servants. Their deceased father, Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, was a member of the West Bengal Cabinet. I have been a Lok Sabha member for four terms since 2009. Still, they have been summoned for a hearing. So what is going on in the name of SIR is easily imaginable. It is nothing but an exercise to harass people”
The CEO also announced that a central team from the ECI, led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharati, will travel to Kolkata next week to review ongoing hearing sessions on claims and objections related to the draft voters’ list. Bharati is scheduled to meet West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal on December 30. (src/khz)
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