Do not accept domicile certificate issued by West Bengal govt after July 25 for SIR: Suvendu Adhikari writes to CEC
'There is apprehension that these applications may involve Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, potentially supported by the directive to issue Domicile Certificates to facilitate their enrollment in Voter Lists. Given the sensitivity of the matter, I urge the Election Commission to take preventive measures,' he wrote to CEC.
In the letter, he claimed that the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), West Bengal recently issued a directive to the District Magistrates (DMs) and Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Cooch Behar districts, instructing to issue a large number of Domicile Certificates in these districts, many of which share border with Bangladesh.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari accuses CM Mamata Banerjee of threatening BLOs
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Kolkata: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) complaining against West Bengal Chief Minister's indirect threat and intimidation of the BLOs. Meanwhile, West Bengal- Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) made voter lists from the 2002 electoral roll revision available said that 'Mamata Banerjee's assertion that BLOs are merely State Govt Employees and her attempt to intimidate and manipulate the electoral process by instructing BLOs to ensure that no names are removed from the Voter List , is clearly an unauthorized attempt to dilute the Voter Lists for political gain.'Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee , during her administrative meeting on Monday, said that the BLOs went for training in Delhi and she was not aware. She also pointed out that BLOs were state government employees and will also remain so after the polls. They should stay alert and keep in mind that not a single voter's name gets deleted during roll revision, if SIR is implemented in Bengal, Banerjee has said.'This is unacceptable. How can elections be fair if the Chief Minister pressures officials and challenges the ECI's autonomy? It is a direct attack on our democracy. I have written to the Election Commissioner of India, urging the ECI to take suo moto cognizance of her remarks that interfere with the duties of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and undermine the ECI's authority,' Adhikari the 2002 voters' list of some districts has been uploaded online on the website of the West Bengal-Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Sources said that the list that has been published on the website of the of the State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) contains the names of 11 districts — Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda in North Bengal and Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, Medinipur and Bankura in the south.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
"Will Step In": Top Court To Poll Body On Mass Exclusion In Bihar Rolls Revision
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Election Commission (EC) is a constitutional authority and it is deemed to act in accordance with law, but if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the court will step in. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar, and said that hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 and 13. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners, once again alleged that people are being left out from the draft list to be published on August 1 by the poll panel, and they will lose their crucial right of voting. Bhushan said the EC has issued a statement that 65 lakh persons have not submitted the enumeration forms during the SIR process as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere. He submitted that these people will have to apply afresh for inclusion in the list. Justice Surya Kant said, "The Election Commission of India, being a Constitutional authority, is deemed to act in accordance with the law. If any wrong doing is done, you bring to the notice of the court. We will hear you." Justice Bagchi told Bhushan, "Your apprehension is that 65 lakh-odd voters will not feature in the draft list. Now ECI is seeking correction in the electoral roll. We are overviewing the process as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in. You bring 15 people whom they say are dead and are alive." Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Jha, said the Election Commission knows who these 65 lakh people are and if they mention their names in the draft list, no one will have a problem. "If the draft list is conspicuously silent, you will bring to our notice," Justice Kant said. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, said that even after the draft list publication, enumeration forms can be filed. The bench asked the petitioners and the poll panel to file their written submissions by August 8. It appointed nodal officers from petitioners side and the Election Commission side for filing written submissions/compilations. On Monday, underscoring the "presumption of genuineness" of Aadhaar and voter ID, the top court refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, and said it would once and for all decide pleas against the Election Commission's SIR of electoral rolls. It asked the poll panel to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter ID for the SIR exercise in Bihar in compliance with its order, saying both documents had a "presumption of genuineness". Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had submitted that the electoral rolls should not be finalised in the interim, pressing for an interim stay on the publication of the draft rolls on August 1. The apex court, however, referred to the top court's previous order noting the petitioners did not press for an interim relief, which couldn't be allowed now, and said the matter would be interpreted once and for all. On July 10, a bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards as valid documents as it allowed the poll panel to continue with its exercise in Bihar. The top court on Monday said the Election Commission suggested that the list of 11 documents for SIR was not inclusive but exhaustive, and they were using both Aadhaar and voter IDs for the purpose of identification. Dwivedi said Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship and the voter card was not relied upon as it was a revision exercise or else there was no use of such an exercise. Justice Kant had then remarked, "Any document on earth can be forged. The Election Commission can deal with cases of forgery on a case to case basis. Instead of en masse exclusion it must be en masse inclusion." Dwivedi said the poll panel was accepting both Aadhaar and voter IDs but with certain supporting documents. The EC affidavit has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by "weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Will step in if there is mass exclusion, SC tells EC on Bihar SIR
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would step in if there was 'mass exclusion' of voters ahead of the 1 August release of the draft electoral roll, following the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. The court observed that while the Election Commission (EC) is a constitutional authority expected to act in accordance with the law, judicial intervention would be warranted in case of large-scale exclusion. "The Election Commission of India, being a constitutional authority, is deemed to act in accordance with the law. If any wrongdoing is done, you bring it to the notice of the court. We will hear you," the court told the petitioners. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed a timeline to hear a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar, scheduling the hearing for 12 and 13 August. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that many individuals were being excluded from the draft electoral roll due to be published on 1 August, risking the loss of their right to vote. Bhushan submitted that the EC had claimed 6.5 million people had not submitted enumeration forms during the SIR process, having either died or permanently relocated. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, countered that enumeration forms could still be submitted after the draft list's publication. The bench directed both parties—the petitioners and the EC—to file their written submissions by 8 August. On Monday, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. However, it allowed the EC to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter ID cards during the SIR process, stating these documents have 'some sanctity.' The court is hearing petitions challenging the EC's 24 June directive ordering a special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Under this directive, voters not listed in the 2003 electoral roll are required to submit documents proving their citizenship. Additionally, individuals born after December 2004 must furnish the citizenship documents of both parents, with further requirements if a parent is a foreign national. The court earlier observed that the petitions raise 'an important question which goes to the very root of the functioning of democracy in the country—the right to vote.'
