KOLKATA: The CPI M led Left Front on Wednesday staged a sit in demonstration in front of the office of West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal at BBD Bag, demanding that no Assembly polls be conducted without a thorough rectification of the voters’ list and the inclusion of all “genuine voters”.
A huge rally of Left supporters marched to the CEO’s office and began the protest after Agarwal allegedly declined to meet a delegation led by Md Salim, Bengal CPI M secretary, who wanted to submit a memorandum to him.
Salim had on Tuesday urged party supporters to take to the streets to “fight for the right to franchise”.
CPI M leader and Left Front chairman Biman Bose had also called upon people to assemble at the CEO’s office at 3 pm on Wednesday to stage a demonstration to safeguard voting rights.
On Wednesday, police allegedly prevented the delegation, comprising leaders of other Front partners, from entering the CEO’s office to submit the memorandum.
“No vote will be held in the state without proper voters’ list. We wanted to submit our demands to the CEO but he denied to meet us. He asked us to meet his subordinate officer but we want to meet him otherwise we will continue our sit in protest here,” Salim said while addressing the rally.
“We had gone to the Election Commission but it asked to meet the CEO. With instructions of the RSS and BJP the Commission started SIR before the Assembly elections in the state. No voter will be categorised as ‘under adjudication’. No one will be marked as D voter, ‘doubtful’ voter. Persons involved in different scams like coal and smuggling, murders, theft of files (Mamata took away files during ED raids at I PAC office and its director residence in Kolkata) and jobs (teachers recruitment scam) in the state are not under judicial process but common citizens who have submitted documents required for the SIR exercise belong to ‘under adjudication’,” the CPI M state secretary said.
“It is almost absurd to conduct Assembly polls in the state without rectifying the voters’ list and enrolling all genuine voters. We will remain seated here for as long as required to ensure voting rights for all and to fight for the people’s right to vote,” he said.
Bose alleged that the Commission, being a constitutional body, should meet all political parties, but was working in violation of the Constitution.
Under the guise of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the political narrative of the BJP had been “materialised into reality” by the Gyanesh Kumar led Election Commission, he alleged, accusing the poll body of doing the bidding of the BJP.
The CPI M further alleged that senior state government officials, including district magistrates, subdivisional officers and block development officers, had aided the Commission in the process.
The protest comes in the backdrop of the publication of the final post SIR electoral rolls in Bengal on 28 February. More than 60 lakh voters were either excluded or remained under adjudication on grounds ranging from duplication and shifting of residence to alleged ineligibility.
Echoing similar concerns, former Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday said the Commission should not announce the Assembly poll in Bengal without preparing a “foolproof” voters’ list.
The CPI M youth wing DYFI and student organisation SFI have lodged separate complaints at Ballyganj and Bhowanipore police stations on Tuesday and Wednesday against Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, for allegedly making controversial statements in the Ballyganj area on Tuesday.
Salim said legal action would be taken against Suvendu for showing disrespect to the Constitution.
“Nastikata nipatjaak, secularism nipatjaak. We offer prayer to the God so that the Hindus stay protected,” Suvendu allegedly said during a programme on Doljatra.
