SIR woes continue on the last day of hearing in West Bengal

Whilst the hearing for Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls nears the finish in West Bengal, the woes of folks scrambling to look for the last-minute hearing continue throughout the State. Saturday (February 7) marked the last day of hearing of notices issued underneath the class of “logical discrepancies”.

Lengthy queues have been seen exterior hearing centres throughout the State, and tales of tragedies surfaced from some locations. Mohammad Yasin Ansari, a Excessive Madrasah trainer from Gazole in Malda, misplaced his spouse and baby on the option to a hearing centre in a highway accident. Nevertheless, he needed to attend the hearing, leaving the our bodies at a State-run hospital.

The Trinamool Congress highlighted the plight of the madrasah trainer in a social media publish. “This incident exposes the true nature of the SIR course of way more clearly than any statistic ever might. Mohammad Yasin Ansari was travelling along with his household to adjust to a SIR hearing when a freeway accident killed his spouse and nine-month-old baby. As a substitute of sympathy or time to grieve, the system responded with harassment,” the ruling get together posted on social media.

There have been stories of comparable incidents throughout the SIR hearings, together with at Howrah, the place bereaved members of the family attended the hearing after the demise of their kin in an accident.

Trinamool slams Election Fee for ‘indifference’

The Trinamool Congress additionally highlighted that moms with newborns have been made to face in SIR queues for 3 to 4 hours after travelling lengthy distances in Malda. “@ECISVEEP performed this train: indifference as a substitute of sensitivity, poor preparation as a substitute of care, and an entire disregard for primary human wants,” the get together posted on social media. Since the begin of the SIR course of, the Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has opposed the train and identified harassment of folks in the title of SIR. Ms. Banerjee, who wrote a number of letters to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, herself argued earlier than a Supreme Court docket Bench in individual towards the harassment of folks.

In the meantime, allegations of hooliganism at SIR hearing centres continued on the last day of the hearing. Chief of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday accused Trinamool supporters of hooliganism at a hearing centre in North 24 Parganas district.

“The fear and hooliganism of the Trinamool’s lumpen parts continue at the SIR (Abstract Revision) hearing centres. Much like Farakka and Chakulia, Trinamool miscreants have unleashed havoc inside the Baduria BDO workplace in North 24 Parganas district,” Mr. Adhikari stated. The BJP chief stated that “state authorities has intentionally thrown regulation and order to the winds in order that Trinamool activists don’t face any obstacles in their unlawful actions of inserting bogus names into the voter checklist and defending the pursuits of unlawful voters.” Mr. Adhikari additionally alleged that signatures of micro-observers have been cast to validate “uncertain” voters in some particular polling cubicles.

After the completion of the first section of SIR, about 58 lakh names have been deleted from the rolls in West Bengal, bringing the quantity of electors in the State to 7.08 crore from 7.66 crore. About 1.36 crore such notices of “logical discrepancies” have been issued. The ultimate voter checklist is more likely to be printed by February 14. Elections in West Bengal are more likely to be scheduled in the subsequent few months.