Kolkata: A five-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation on Wednesday addressed the media after meeting the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), raising serious concerns over the ongoing SIR and the deployment of micro-observers.
TMC leader Shashi Panja alleged that the Election Commission was carrying out an “unconstitutional” re-verification of voters through micro-observers, despite no such provision existing in the Representation of the People Act.
She claimed that even voters already verified by Electoral Registration Officers were being subjected to fresh scrutiny, placing nearly 5.4 crore voters under uncertainty. Panja further alleged that several micro-observers had been brought from BJP-ruled states and questioned their role and intent. The delegation also flagged cases where voters, despite attending hearings and submitting documents, were later informed that their hearings had lapsed. Panja described the SIR as poorly planned and exclusionary, alleging that living voters were wrongly marked as dead and asked to submit Form 6.
Senior TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya said the matter being sub judice, the use of micro-observers should be halted until the Supreme Court’s verdict on February 9. She accused the Election Commission of violating constitutional and statutory norms.
Echoing similar concerns, Snehasis Chakraborty and Partha Bhowmick questioned the credibility of the Election Commission, alleging that the SIR process was aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bengal.
The TMC said it would abide by the Supreme Court’s directions and continue its legal fight to protect voting rights.