"Those with genuine documents will have their names included": BJP's Dilip Ghosh on SIR drive in West Bengal
West Medinipur, April 11
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said that there is no point in discussing Special Intensive Revision, while stressing that people with legal and legitimate documents will have their names included in the voter list.
Speaking to ANI, he noted the continuous objections raised by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee against the SIR drive.
"Look, there is no use in discussing this. Mamata Banerjee has strongly opposed it, and her workers have made it more complicated. The court and the Election Commission have tried very hard to find a solution," Ghosh said.
"The rest - those who have genuine documents - should go through the system that has been told to them; everyone will get justice. Look, in Bihar, 65 lakh (6.5 million) people were removed; there was no protest, elections happened, a government was formed, and no one opposed it. Here in West Bengal as well, 90 lakh (9 million) people have been removed; it may even go up to 1 crore (10 million). Those who have genuine documents will have their names included, and those who don't will not," he added.
West Bengal has witnessed a major tussle between TMC and the ECI over the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The TMC has accused the ECI of working on the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to delete the names of the voters from the electoral rolls.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee accused BJP and ECI of turning "Indian democracy into a cruel joke" over SIR in West Bengal.
The Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal is currently taking place under judicial supervision. The total number of voters in West Bengal stands at 7,04,59,284 voters (7.04 crore) without adding the names under adjudication, as compared to 7,66,37,529 (7.66 crore) before the SIR exercise. This shows a change of more than 61 lakh names in the list. TMC claimed that out of the 60 lakh voters placed under adjudication, 27 lakhs have been deleted.
The polling for 294-seat West Bengal assembly will take place in two phases on April 23 and 29 followed by counting of votes on May 4.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As a citizen, I want a clean voter list. But removing 60-90 lakh names is a huge number! The EC must ensure no genuine voter is disenfranchised in this process. The timing, just before elections, does raise questions. Hope the judicial supervision ensures fairness. 🤞
Both sides are playing politics with our voting rights. TMC had years to clean the rolls if there were duplicates. BJP is also not a saint in this. The common man just wants to cast his vote without hassle. This blame game helps no one.
My elderly parents in Howrah are worried their names might be removed. They have voted for decades. The government and EC should run awareness campaigns to help people check and rectify their status. Fear is spreading in the villages.
Ghosh is right. Why is there protest only in Bengal? If the documents are there, the name will be there. Simple. TMC is scared because their vote bank of illegal immigrants and duplicate entries is getting exposed. This is for the health of democracy.
Respectfully, I disagree with Mr. Ghosh's comparison with Bihar. Every state's demographic and political context is different. A reduction of 8% of the voter list is massive and needs more explanation than just "get genuine documents". The EC's impartiality is crucial here.
D