Kolkata: The judicial officers involved in the adjudication of 60 lakh voters have already disposed of over 45 lakh cases, till Monday night. However, in the 5th supplementary lists published by the poll body till Monday, 38 lakh names have been published, out of which over 17 lakh names have been deleted, nearly 45 per cent of the disposed cases. The Election Commission also published the sixth supplementary list late on Tuesday night.
Interestingly, two supplementary lists were uploaded by the poll body on Monday night that contained the names of 3 lakh electors.
Responding to allegations of large-scale irregularities in the submission of Form 6 applications for new voters by the Trinamool Congress, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal claimed that Form 6 submissions are handled through a structured administrative process and inclusion of names follows established rules.
“This is a government office and any person can submit as many documents as per his/ her wish. The receiving section accepts them as ‘contents not verified’. The same is then sent to the District Electoral Officers (DEOs) for disposal by the Electoral Registration Officer. There is no mechanism within the CEO’s office to arbitrarily add or delete names in voter lists,” said Agarwal.
He noted that earlier Form 6 could be submitted only upon attaining 18 years of age, but under revised rules, applications can now be filed up to four times in a year. He emphasised that there is no restriction on such submissions, but Form 6 applications submitted at least 10 days prior to nomination deadlines are considered for inclusion in the current electoral roll, as per the rules. Applications submitted after the stipulated deadline will be processed for subsequent electoral rolls, not the current one,” he clarified. Agarwal dismissed allegations of irregularities and said: “We are functioning transparently. There is no secrecy or surveillance in our office—everything is open for scrutiny,” he added.
Agarwal also informed that an online portal and e-application system have been launched, and tribunal hearings will begin once the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is finalised.
He further stated that S P Mukherjee Institute under the Ministry of Jalshakti at Joka has been selected for setting up the tribunal. The 1st floor of the building can house 19 benches, the judges for which have already been earmarked by the Calcutta High Court.
“We are working at a rapid pace under the supervision of the High Court-appointed committee and in compliance with Supreme Court directives and we hope to make the tribunal functional very soon, “ Agarwal said.
Meanwhile, the ECI on Tuesday suspended the BDO of Hanskhali in Nadia district in connection with the incident of assault of a teacher during an election training camp on March 27. Sayantan Bhattacharya, the BDO of Hanskhali, has not only been served a suspension order, but a departmental inquiry has also been initiated against him.
On March 27, during a training camp for Presiding Officers and Polling Officers organised at the Ranaghat Debnath Institution located within the Hanskhali block of Nadia, the school teacher Saikat Chatterjee was allegedly assaulted. An FIR regarding this incident was subsequently lodged at the Ranaghat Police Station.
The poll body had issued a show-cause notice to the BDO. The suspension was issued after the reply. In its letter, the Commission clearly stated that the Hanskhali BDO, who was in charge of the said training camp, completely failed to maintain law and order. According to the Commission, the BDO demonstrated extreme negligence and a lack of seriousness in the discharge of his duties. In a letter addressed to the state Chief Secretary on Tuesday, the Commission directed that Sayantan Bhattacharya be immediately placed under temporary suspension from service. The Chief Secretary has been asked to submit a compliance report in this regard by 11:00 AM on Wednesday.
The police have already arrested two people for being involved in the assault. Meanwhile, the Income Tax department made a major seizure of foreign currency of Rs 4.54 crore from the Park Street area on Tuesday, informed the Commission.