PROTESTS BREAK OUT IN BENGAL OVER 'SIR HARASSMENT' DAY AFTER SC RAP

Demonstrators allege despite having valid documents, elderly citizens, genuine voters being served SIR notices

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

A day after the Supreme Court stepped in to alleviate the “stress and strain” faced by ordinary voters during West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, issuing a slew of binding directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make the process transparent, accessible and voter-friendly, and reiterating that the core purpose of the exercise was to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded, protests and violence broke out in various places across the State to protest “SIR harassment”.

In many places, BJP workers were assaulted by Trinamool Congress activists while going to hearing centres to submit Form 7. This form is used to point out names which may be deleted.

Since the protests were largely led by Trinamool Congress leaders, the police stood by inactive even when hearings were disrupted and venues ransacked.

In Basanti in South 24-Parganas district, the BDO office where SIR hearings were being conducted was attacked, ransacked and furniture and documents were destroyed. The same situation prevailed in Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas.