Bengal SIR Row: Document Verification Is Mandatory, EC's Strict Direction To Officials
The Commission said the directions must be strictly followed by District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, Roll Observers and all officials involved in the process.
The Election Commission has issued strict instructions making document verification mandatory during the ongoing revision of the voter list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“When the Electoral Registration Officer sends a notice, the prescribed documents must be submitted for proof. All the documents submitted by the voters must be uploaded through the BLO app. They must be verified by the concerned authority within 5 days of receiving them on ECINet,” the Commission said.
It added that if a document has been issued by an authority in another district within the same state, it must be sent to the District Election Officer (DEO) of that district for verification through ECINet. “If the document is issued by an authority outside the state, a request for verification will be sent through the CEO,” the instructions said.
The Commission said the directions must be strictly followed by District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, Roll Observers and all officials involved in the process.
SIR hearings to begin on Saturday
Several discrepancies have been identified in the draft voter list prepared under SIR. The hearing process is scheduled to begin on the 27th, which falls on Saturday.
High Court observations on OBC certificates
Earlier on Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court said the National Election Commission must decide whether OBC certificates issued after March 2010 would be admissible during the SIR hearings.
Last year, the High Court had ruled that all OBC certificates issued in the state after 2010 were invalid. However, the list of 11 documents issued by the Election Commission for submission during the SIR hearing includes caste certificates.
A lawyer has written to the National Election Commission seeking clarity on the matter and subsequently filed a case in the High Court.
On Wednesday, Justice Krishna Rao directed the Commission to take a decision within the next seven days and to provide appropriate reasons.
Central officials deployed as observers
According to Election Commission sources, 4,600 central government officials have been appointed to monitor the SIR hearings.
On Wednesday, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, held a meeting with them at Nazrul Mancha.
Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said those appointed as micro observers, who will work alongside the ERO and AERO, had undergone training. He said the meeting focused on the Election Commission’s instructions and the responsibilities assigned to micro observers.
BLOs flag confusion over hearings
Meanwhile, a section of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) said there was confusion on the ground regarding the SIR hearing process, despite earlier indications that hearings would begin on the 27th.
BLO and Voter Union Manch general secretary Swapan Mandal said a list was sent to BLOs last week containing names of voters who figured in the 2002 voter list but were not visible online.
“Through a virtual meeting, the ERO and AERO had instructed that there was no need to hold separate hearings for them,” he said.
“But today we are hearing from different places that they also need to be held hearings and that notice has also been issued at different places. But why is there no central instruction?” Mandal said.
“Just as confusion is being created among the BLOs, confusion is also being created among the general voters,” he added.
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