Bengal SIR exercise: ECI identifies select categories of voters whose hearings will be done at residences

Kolkata, Dec 29 (IANS) Amid controversies in West Bengal over hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in the state, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday evening announced select categories of voters in whose cases hearings will be conducted at their residences.

For these categories of voters, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will visit the doorsteps of the voters concerned and conduct hearings on claims and objections at their residences, an insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, confirmed.

“The categories of voters in whose cases hearings will be conducted at their residences include seriously ill patients, pregnant women and senior citizens who have attained the age of 85. The same relaxation will also be extended to differently-abled persons,” a CEO office insider said.

At the same time, the Commission turned down a plea from the Trinamool Congress to allow booth-level agents (BLAs) to be present during the hearing sessions. It clarified that barring the voters summoned for hearings, only the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) and Commission-appointed micro-observers would be permitted to be present during the hearings.

The Commission also sought reports on two incidents earlier in the day in which two elected Trinamool Congress legislators allegedly stopped hearing sessions forcefully, demanding permission for party BLAs to be present.

The Commission further directed district magistrates, who are also the District Electoral Officers (DEOs), to ensure that under no circumstances are hearing sessions stopped forcibly in the future.

On Sunday, Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, during a virtual meeting with party leaders, workers and BLAs, issued instructions calling for the mandatory presence of party BLAs during the hearing sessions.

He had also stated that the Trinamool Congress would explore legal options if BLAs were not allowed to be present during the hearings.

Both Trinamool Congress legislators accused of forcefully stopping hearing sessions on Monday claimed that they were acting in accordance with instructions issued by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

src/pgh