More than 1.14 lakh voter documents were not uploaded within the deadline, the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal said on Wednesday. The portal for uploads closed on February 14.
Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said concerned EROs and AEROs will be issued show-cause notices for the delay. He also said the matter will be informed to the Election Commission of India.
He added that eligible voters whose documents were not uploaded despite being valid will be identified. Booth Level Officers will visit their homes and provide them with Form 6.
27 lakh documents sent for re-verification
Around 27 lakh uploaded voter documents have been sent back by micro-observers for re-verification. These have now gone to the EROs and AEROs for further checking.
Sources in the Election Commission said four ERMOs may also face show-cause notices. They allegedly left work without informing the Roll Observer. The officials are employees of Electronics Regional Test Laboratories, Salt Lake.
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CEO to seek clarification over viral post
The CEO also said he will seek clarification from C. Murugan over a recent issue involving a Roll Observer.
This comes after Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee posted a chat screenshot on his official social media handles that has gone viral. The CEO said the matter will be examined.
What did Abhishek Banerjee reveal through the post?
Abhishek Banerjee posted startling screenshots of a WhatsApp group, alleging that the Election Commission of India was issuing SIR-related instructions through informal chats. The screenshots showed that Special Roll Observer C. Murugan was directing micro-observers on document checks, which violated Supreme Court norms. He also alleged misuse of login data and said the matter would be taken to court.
The Supreme Court of India had earlier directed the ECI to avoid WhatsApp and issue formal written orders for SIR. It also clarified that micro-observers can only assist and cannot add or delete names.
