Chaos at SIR hearings as Trinamool demands inclusion of booth level agents during proceedings

The Trinamool Congress on Monday demanded that Booth Level Agents (BLA) be allowed inside special intensive revision (SIR) related hearings happening in West Bengal for the last two days.

Trinamool MLA Asit Majumdar stopped hearings at Chinsurah over the issue. Bharatiya Janta Party leadership called for an FIR against Mr Majumdar.

“They will not let BLAs stay in hearings, but they are not giving it in writing, that is why I stopped the hearing,” Mr. Majumdar was seen saying on Monday. He said the BLAs should be present in the hearing process so they can make note of why voters were removed from the list and maintain transparency in the process.

However, the hearings at Chinsurah resumed later in the day, though no resolution was reached over the inclusion of BLAs.

Like Chinsurah, a similar situation unfolded in Bardhaman, where Trinamool workers and BLAs held protests at the Sub-Divisional Officer’s office and asked to be included in the hearing. Similar instances were reported from places like Magrahath, and Medinipur where Trinamool workers demanded to be included in the hearing process.

“The Election Commission should file an FIR against him (Asit Majumdar). They should also provide central force in places where they [Trinamool] are interfering,” Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said from a public meeting in Nandigram.

Meanwhile, many people at hearings have complained about long wait in queues as they struggle with old age, severe health issues, and disabilities. The Trinamool leadership has raised this issue with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, and a five-member delegation from the party filed a deputation on Monday.

“They are calling 93-year-old people for hearings. Why is this harassment against senior citizens? Don’t they deserve respect and dignity? Why are their health conditions not being considered?” Minister Partha Bhowmick said after coming out of the CEO’s office.

In their letter to the CEO, they also questioned that if the EC can start a facility for door-step voting for people above the age of 85 and persons with disabilities, then why the same offer was not being given to these people during SIR hearings.