Kolkata, Jan 21 (PTI) A prominent advocacy group ‘Bangla Pokkho’ on Wednesday staged a protest outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) here, alleging large-scale harassment of legitimate Bengali electors and an attempt to manipulate the voters’ list.
The organisation, which focuses on the rights of Bengalis, also submitted a deputation to the CEO.
After the protest, Bangla Pokkho leaders held a meeting with Additional CEO Arindam Niyogi and claimed they have come to know that even 48 hours after a Supreme Court verdict, no directive had been issued from the office of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to implement the SC’s order with regard to SIR.
“During our meeting with the Deputy CEO, we pointed out that frequent changes in rules by the Election Commission of India have placed Bengalis under severe distress,” organisation spokesperson Kaushik Maity told reporters.
“Under the pretext of logical discrepancy, hearing notices have reportedly been issued to more than one crore Bengali voters. Irrespective of religion, Bengalis are allegedly being forced to stand in queues to prove their legitimacy as voters and citizens,” Maity claimed.
Bangla Pokkho said that the impact spans all sections of society — from impoverished rural families to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, legendary poet Joy Goswami, and even members of the family of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose — and protests have erupted across various parts of Bengal as a result.
Bangla Pokkho General Secretary Garg Chatterjee said the deputation raised six key demands – end of harassment in the name of ‘logical discrepancy’ as ordinary working Bengalis, both Hindus and Muslims, are being forced daily to abandon their livelihoods to attend hearings.
Alleging misuse of Form 6, the organisation alleged that attempts are being made to include voters from other states into Bengal’s electoral rolls and demanded an immediate halt.
Chatterjee further said conspiracies are underway across districts to delete the names of legitimate voters through Form 7 applications and demanded that the identities of those submitting such forms be made public and that FIRs be lodged against them if the complaints are found to be false. PTI SUS NN
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