Kolkata: A day after Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing notice was being served to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, clarified that all required formalities in the matter had already been completed at Sen’s residence.
In a post on its official X handle, the CEO’s office said that the enumeration form of Sen—listed as an overseas elector—was received through a family member and that a “logical discrepancy” was flagged by the ERO Net Portal as the recorded age difference between the economist and his mother was less than 15 years.
“A notice was generated for Dr Amartya Sen in parity with other discrepancy cases. Since the elector is aged 85 years plus, the ERO/AERO along with the Booth Level Officer (BLO) have visited his residence and completed the formalities,” the CEO office said.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of India had issued a hearing notice scheduling a January 16 hearing, citing discrepancies in the enumeration form submitted by the 92-year-old economist.
Under ECI norms, electors above the age of 85 are entitled to hearings at their residence, conducted by the concerned BLO.
The development triggered a political row, with the ruling Trinamool Congress condemning the move. Addressing a rally in Birbhum, Abhishek Banerjee had described the notice as “unfortunate” and alleged misuse of the SIR process.
“A Nobel laureate should be above any suspicion, right? But what if he’s a Bengali? Then he’ll be slapped with hearing notices as if he were some common criminal,” the party said in a statement, accusing the ECI and the BJP of targeting Sen.
Meanwhile, officials in the CEO’s office clarified that only one notice had been issued and that such discrepancies are routinely resolved at the local level. Another official said the Nobel laureate was not required to physically appear and that minor errors in voter records could be corrected administratively.
As Sen is currently abroad, the notice had earlier been served on a family member at Santiniketan in Bolpur. His cousin has confirmed receipt of the notice.