The West Bengal government has informed the Election Commission that it is prepared to deploy 8,505 Group B officers for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The move comes amid Supreme Court scrutiny over allegations of limited cooperation in the SIR process.
The West Bengal government has informed the Election Commission of India that it is ready to provide a large number of officers to help with the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. According to sources, the state has conveyed that 8,505 Group B officers from the state administration and its allied bodies can be deployed to assist in the revision process.
This development has become important as the poll panel had earlier told the Supreme Court that West Bengal was not fully cooperating with the SIR exercise. During an earlier hearing, the Election Commission had claimed that the state had provided only a very limited number of senior officers to supervise the process.
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A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice N.V. Anjaria, is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions on Monday. These petitions include one filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which challenges several aspects of the SIR process being carried out in the state.
Sources have indicated that Banerjee, who on 4 February became the first sitting Chief Minister to personally argue her case before the apex court, may once again appear before the Bench during the upcoming hearing.
Officials said that the state government has formally communicated to the Election Commission that it is prepared to deploy 8,505 Group B officers to support the revision exercise.
This clarification comes after senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission, informed the Supreme Court on 4 February that West Bengal had made available only 80 Grade II officers, such as sub-divisional magistrates, to oversee the SIR process.
Dwivedi had also alleged that the state was depending mainly on lower-rank employees, including Anganwadi workers, for carrying out the electoral roll revision. Banerjee, however, strongly rejected these claims during her arguments before the court and insisted that the state had provided all officers and staff demanded by the poll panel.
While addressing the Supreme Court, the Chief Minister urged the court to intervene and “save democracy”, alleging that West Bengal was being selectively targeted and that ordinary voters were facing unnecessary trouble during the revision process.
After considering her submissions, the Supreme Court observed that genuine voters should not be removed from the electoral rolls under any circumstances. The Bench issued notices to the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, asking them to file their replies by 9 February.
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The court also directed the Election Commission to ensure that booth-level officers and electoral roll officers behave sensitively while issuing notices to voters. It specifically noted that people should not be harassed for small issues such as spelling mistakes or minor discrepancies in documents.
Earlier, on 19 January, the Supreme Court had passed several directions stating that the Special Intensive Revision process in West Bengal must be carried out in a transparent manner and should not cause inconvenience or hardship to voters.
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