The Bangla Ekata Mancha held a press conference today, December 9, at the Kolkata Press Club and flagged major concerns regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted in West Bengal, among many other states. The speakers highlighted the issues faced by marginalised communities due to the electoral rolls revision.
Among the panellists were transgender rights activist Debangshi Biswas Chowdhury, actor Parambrata Chatterjee, film director Indradip Dasgupta, and political activists Tanmoy Ghosh and Anirban Banerjee.
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What did the speakers highlight?
Transgender rights activist Debangshi Biswas Chowdhury said, "If someone asks for my birth certificate now, it would be a redundant document. I identify myself as a woman now. The only documents that I can provide to confirm my identity are the ones related to my surgery, my transgender certificate, and if there are any documents which have been changed." She added that the Transgender Identity Card is not enlisted as one of the eleven documents recognised for SIR verification. She said, "Those who aren't privileged like us to have their documents in place,...where will they go?"
Tanmoy Ghosh said, "Even footpath dwellers are being pestered for documents, but the law says that if a BLO spots a person living on the footpath for three days, they are entitled to vote. This is mandated by the constitution."
Parambrata Chatterjee said,"SIR is a normal process, being conducted under unusual circumstances. The marginalised people in the society should be heard and empathised with. This is my responsibility as an artist. I know that this platform will get a political colour, but all of us hope for one thing - empathy for the marginalised from the state, otherwise a modern democracy won't be able to survive."
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Film and music director Indradip Dasgupta said, "Saw that BLOs are supposed to videograph voters who exceed 85 years in age. My mother is 90 years old, and she suffers from dementia. How will they videograph her? What will she be able to say? She was born before the country got independence, and her family members were involved in the freedom struggle. Now, she is being compelled through this SIR process to prove that she's a citizen of this country and is alive."
The form collection part of the SIR exercise is over in West Bengal. The window to raise objections is scheduled to be open from mid-December to mid-January, and the final voter list is expected to be released by mid-February.
