Bengal SIR: LoP Suvendu Adhikari demands audit of 1.25 crore enumeration entries made in three days

Kolkata, Dec 1 The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday, called for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct an audit of the approximately 1.25 crore entries in the enumeration forms made during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state on the three dates -- November 26, November 27, and November 28.

A BJP delegation led by Adhikari went to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, and submitted a complaint, where one of the demands was an audit of the enumeration forms.

“We have placed a demand for the audit of the entries for the three days by the team of central observers who have been specially deputed by the ECI for West Bengal to review the SIR process. The audit should be done using sophisticated modern technology. During the three days, there were a record 1.25 crore enumeration form entries. This is a scam and should be investigated by the commission,” Adhikari told media persons after submitting the deputation.

He also claimed that some electoral registration officers (EROs), assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs), and members of the vote-strategist Prashant Kishor-founded Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), were involved in this scam.

I-PAC had been strategising the Trinamool Congress' vote and campaign strategies since the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

Adhikari alleged that in several cases, the land revenue officers had been made EROs in the districts, in violation of the ECI-mandated guidelines, which allow only officers in sub-divisional officers or equivalent ranks to be appointed as EROs.

“Often, the I-PAC is being engaged in data-entry work. In this process, names of several illegal Bangladesh infiltrators and deceased voters have been included in the voters’ list,” Adhikari alleged.

After the BJP delegation reached the CEO’s office in central Kolkata in the afternoon, the members of BLO Oikya Mancha (BLO Unity Forum), an association of Trinamool Congress-affiliated association of BLOs, started protesting in front of that office.

A huge police contingent that was present there prevented the escalation of tension.

--IANS

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