West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote another letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) process in the state.
Questioning a centralized request for proposal issued by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to outsource data staff for SIR and election-related work, the CM also objected to the proposed setting up of polling booths inside private housing complexes – terming it a “disturbing but urgent development”.
“Why? Why? Why?” the CM asked in her letter.
Mamata Banerjee’s latest letter to CEC Gyanesh Kumar comes days after she wrote a letter to the CEC raising concerns over the ongoing SIR and seeking an immediate halt.
What did Mamata Banerjee say in her letter?
In a letter dated November 24, the Trinamool Congress top brass identified two concerns related to the SIR. It alleged that the CEC had banned the use of contract data entry operators and Bangla Sahayata Kendra (BSK) employees for SIR or election-related data tasks.
Mamata Banerjee wrote that the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal had instead made a demand to “outsource” 1,000 data entry operators and 50 software developers per year.
Questioning the move, the CM wrote, “When district offices already have a sizeable number of competent professionals performing such functions, what necessitates the initiative of the CEO to outsource the same work to an outside agency for a whole year?
Describing the implications as far-reaching, Mamata Banerjee said the decisions would have a “severe impact on the fairness of the electoral process”.
Previous letter of CM West Bengal CEC
In her earlier letter dated November 20, Mamata Banerjee had asked CEC Gyanesh Kumar to immediately stop the SIR exercise in the state, saying it was “chaotic, coercive and dangerous”.
In her latest letter, Mamata Banerjee mentioned that she had “again and again” expressed concern over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state and is now “compelled to write” to the Chief Election Commissioner as the situation has reached a “deeply alarming stage”.
She alleged that the SIR in Bengal was being conducted in an unplanned and unsafe manner, which crippled the entire process from day one.
BJP, TMC spar over SIR in Bengal
Union minister and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday said the TMC was against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal to protect “millions of ineligible voters”.
Addressing a rally at Parivartan Yatra in Mohanpur Paschim Medinipur, Sukanta Majumdar said that SIR was “welcomed” by the “bonafide” citizens of West Bengal but was opposed to TMC leaders, PTI reported.
SIR in Bengal – When is the last date?
The SIR process, which started on November 4, is currently underway. The door-to-door counting phase is scheduled to end on December 4, and the publication of the draft voter list is set for December 9, according to the Election Commission’s website.
