When the draft list of SIR was published, 5.8 million voters' names were excluded. There were extensive complaints regarding this ASDD list, meaning the list of dead-fake-transferred-absent voters. The state Chief Electoral Officer's office has announced that those whose names are on that list can also vote under special conditions.
The state CEO office has informed that individuals whose names are on that list can vote. However, in such cases, they will have to go to the polling station with appropriate proof. They will have to demonstrate that they are alive and all their information is correct.
Also Read | Centre’s ‘Vande Mataram’ directive triggers BJP–TMC political clash ahead of Bengal elections
After this, they will fill up a declaration form in the presence of the presiding officer, where they will provide all information and the presiding officer will verify it. However, state CEO Manojkumar Agarwal said that if it is later proven that the voter voted by providing false information, legal action will be taken against them.
Dispute over officers deployed for SIR verification
The state government had informed the Supreme Court about providing a group of 8,805 Group-B officers to assist in the document verification work of SIR. Nabanna had already submitted the list of all names to the Election Commission. However, the Commission claimed that a total of 6,000 people had joined work by February 10. It was also claimed that among these 6,000, there are 500 AEROs (who are currently working on SIR).
In the Supreme Court case regarding West Bengal's SIR, questions were raised about the role of micro observers. The Supreme Court's directive was that along with micro-observers, Group B officers provided by the state could also assist in SIR work. However, the power to make final decisions would rest only with the EROs. Accordingly, by Tuesday evening, 8,805 people were informed about joining work.
Also Read | ‘Father’ of 389 voters? EC flags shocking anomalies in SIR records
However, the Commission claims that not all officers have joined yet. Additionally, many in the list provided by the state are not Group B officers. Reports were sought from district magistrates or DEOs regarding how many people would be deployed in which district. According to sources from the state Chief Electoral Officer's office, that list has also not reached the CEO. So far, only Darjeeling and Alipurduar districts have submitted this report.
