New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) The BJP approached the Election Commission on Monday, alleging “serious irregularities” in the issuance and authentication of various documents used for voter registration in West Bengal and demanded their enhanced scrutiny during the SIR of electoral rolls.
A BJP delegation comprising the party’s West Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya, and election in-charge and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb, also urged the poll panel to look into the reports of various instances of “violence and intimidation” by ruling TMC leaders in West Bengal.
In its memorandum to the poll panel, the BJP delegation flagged “serious irregularities” in the issuance and authentication of birth certificates, permanent residence certificates, forest rights certificates, caste certificates, land and house allotment certificates and preparation of family registers, which are being used for voter registration in the state.
“Given the extensive manipulation of documentary mechanisms and the compromised state machinery, it is crucial that the forthcoming special intensive revision (SIR) in West Bengal be conducted under enhanced scrutiny and independent verification,” the BJP delegation demanded.
Acceptance of documents without such safeguards would defeat the objective of maintaining a “clean and legitimate” electoral roll, it added.
After the meeting, the BJP’s in-charge for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, told reporters that the party delegation met the Election Commission to impress upon the need to review the documentation for SIR in the state.
“We presented to the commission point-by-point details on how irregular documents are being issued in West Bengal to regularise illegal infiltration in the state,” said Malviya, who was also part of the delegation.
He remarked, “We have seen how documents issued in West Bengal have been found in possession of infiltrators across the country.” The BJP leader alleged that the Mamata Banerjee administration, from time to time, issued several documents bearing signatures of officers who are not authorised to “release or sign those documents”.
This has created a situation where every document needs to be vetted by the EC, he said. “The Election Commission has taken note of our request and assured that they will ensure the sanctity of the documents is maintained,” Malviya added.
The Election Commission has announced that it will conduct phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories between November and February.
The states and Union Territories are: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
In its memorandum to the poll panel, the BJP claimed “large-scale” issuance of “forged and backdated” certificates, particularly through the state government initiatives such as the ‘Duare Sarkar’ drive, to “infiltrators”.
“Numerous field reports indicate that since 2020, there has been an exponential rise in the number of certificates issued under these drives. Many of these are being used to create a false trail of citizenship and residence, thereby undermining the very purpose of the SIR,” it claimed.
“Caste certificates have been issued in large numbers through ‘Duare Sarkar’ camps without field enquiry. A vast number of OBC-A certificates have been issued to members of the Muslim community, many of whom are alleged to be illegal infiltrators,” the BJP claimed.
The Calcutta High Court has already declared the OBC-A category illegal, and the matter remains sub-judice, it added.
The BJP also claimed that “numerous cases” of backdated birth certificates are being issued in connivance with “local officials and political cadres” in the state under TMC rule.
“Often, individuals obtain duplicate certificates through fabricated general diary entries in police stations, falsely reporting loss or damage of the original document,” it said, demanding that birth certificates issued after June 24 this year should not be accepted for the SIR purposes.
If “absolutely necessary”, such certificates should be verified on a case-by-case basis by the booth-level officers before acceptance, the party suggested.
The BJP demanded that a comprehensive database of all documents, including certificates of birth, residence, caste, and forest rights, issued after January 1, 2002, should be compiled by district magistrates and shared with the chief electoral officer for verification.
“The commission should identify, by name, the government officers authorised to issue these certificates and obtain written confirmation that they have personally verified the applicants’ eligibility and residency,” it said.
The BJP also demanded that certificates issued under any order that is presently sub-judice must be supported by at least one additional valid document from the “prescribed list of 11 acceptable proofs”.
The BJP urged the EC to accept the record of rights (land khatians) recorded before the first ‘Duare Sarkar’ camp of 2020, including formal mutations in the names of direct descendants, as an additional document for the SIR.
It also requested the poll panel to accept as an additional document the Provident Fund for Landless Agricultural Labourers registrations prior to the last SIR for the direct descendants. PTI PK PK NSD NSD
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