The Election Commission is considering deploying central forces to protect special roll observers in West Bengal following disruptions and attacks during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. TMC workers disrupted hearings on Monday over the exclusion of party-affiliated Booth Level Assistants. Officials have requested enhanced security amid rising tensions.
The Election Commission has deployed central forces outside the West Bengal Chief Electoral Office in Kolkata amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Following incidents of gherao and attacks on special roll observers, the EC is considering using these forces to provide security to them.
On Monday, TMC workers reportedly disrupted hearings at three places over the EC’s decision not to allow party-affiliated Booth Level Assistants (BLAs) at the hearings. Recently, a convoy of special roll observer C Murugan was attacked at Magrahat in South 24 Parganas district. He was previously gheraoed in Falta by voters over deletions of names in the draft roll.
After the attack, special roll observer Subrata Gupta and state Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal both wrote letters to the EC requesting adequate security for special roll observers.
Meanwhile, Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday for a two-day visit to oversee the SIR process. During a meeting with all District Election Officers (DEOs), Bharti noted that many irregularities have been found in the enumeration form upload and during the hearings to date. In some cases, more than a hundred people were mapped with the same father or mother, he said, and directed all DEOs to take immediate action in such cases.
He also alerted DEOs that during the hearing, no documents should be taken that are not mentioned in the EC order. “If those documents are taken, those cases will be canceled during verification,” an EC official said. Bharti further stated that only DEOs are authorised to verify documents given in the hearing and they cannot divert the verification process to other officials or Electoral Registration Officers.
