West Bengal's ruling party, the Trinamool Congress, accused election officials of harassing voters over minor details. The party made these claims after a meeting with the state's Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal. A delegation including state ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya, Shashi Panja, and Pulak Roy, along with MPs Partha Bhowmick and Bapi Halder, held a press conference. They alleged voters are being unnecessarily summoned for hearings during the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll for issues like spelling mistakes or name variations between English and Bengali.
The party demanded several immediate changes to the process. They want the Aadhaar card recognized officially as a valid twelfth document for enrollment, arguing its current exclusion causes public confusion. Minister Bhattacharya stated that other accepted documents also do not prove citizenship, citing a Supreme Court instruction from a similar process in Bihar. The Trinamool Congress also insisted that hearings be moved to nearby government offices like Gram Panchayat buildings instead of distant block or district offices, saying travel is a burden for many.
The delegation warned the Election Commission of India against forcibly removing large numbers of names from the voter list. They threatened to launch protests if over one crore names are deleted. Their overall complaint centers on the hearing procedure for the draft voters' list, which they called unnecessary and confusing for ordinary people.
The party demanded several immediate changes to the process. They want the Aadhaar card recognized officially as a valid twelfth document for enrollment, arguing its current exclusion causes public confusion. Minister Bhattacharya stated that other accepted documents also do not prove citizenship, citing a Supreme Court instruction from a similar process in Bihar. The Trinamool Congress also insisted that hearings be moved to nearby government offices like Gram Panchayat buildings instead of distant block or district offices, saying travel is a burden for many.
The delegation warned the Election Commission of India against forcibly removing large numbers of names from the voter list. They threatened to launch protests if over one crore names are deleted. Their overall complaint centers on the hearing procedure for the draft voters' list, which they called unnecessary and confusing for ordinary people.
