Kolkata, Mar 23 (PTI) West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar on Monday alleged that the ongoing voter list revision process in the state is undermining democracy, claiming that many eligible voters are being left out without due recourse.
Sarkar said that compared to other political parties that have already announced candidates and begun campaigning, the Congress bears a “much greater political responsibility”.
“If even a single eligible voter is left out, it ceases to be a festival of democracy and turns into a graveyard or funeral procession of democracy,” he said.
He claimed that while another list is expected to be released later in the day, it is unlikely to present the complete picture. According to him, the phased release of names is a “strategy” to prevent public anger from building up and thereby avoid any law and order issues.
Referring to the revision process, Sarkar said that earlier, if an eligible voter’s documentation was incomplete, they would get an opportunity to reapply.
“In this case, that opportunity has not been given. Instead, terms like ‘logical discrepancy’ and ‘adjudication’ are being cleverly introduced to create confusion and an atmosphere of fear,” he alleged.
“In the history of West Bengal, this is for the first time that candidates are being declared while keeping eligible voters in uncertainty. The state is witnessing an election where, despite dates being announced, the fate of voters is stuck in legal complexities,” he said.
He asserted that Congress considers it its foremost duty to stand by all eligible voters before participating in the electoral process. “Every day, democracy is dying in West Bengal,” Sarkar alleged.
On the supplementary list expected to be released, Sarkar said the party hopes that at least 90 per cent of the lakhs of names currently under adjudication will be included.
“If that does not happen, it will have to be said that democracy is being systematically killed in Bengal,” he said.
Appealing to party candidates and workers, Sarkar urged them to stand by the people during what he described as a “difficult time”. PTI SCH RG
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