In a petition filed in the Calcutta High Court on Monday, TMC leader and former MP Subhasish Chakraborty has challenged the Election Commission’s decision to seek information of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) months ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
Mentioning it before the Bench of Justice Amrita Sinha, the counsel for Chakraborty sought an urgent hearing into the matter.
Chakraborty’s counsel, Arko Nag, said it was not within the EC’s jurisdiction to seek information about the BLAs now.
“The EC has announced that they will implement SIR (Special Intensive Revision) in West Bengal. The District Magistrate has given notice to all political parties to submit the names of BLAs. It was usually done seven days prior to voting day. Now, they are asking to disclose the names of BLAs almost a year prior to elections. It is beyond the power of EC as per the People’s Representation Act.”
When Justice Sinha asked where privacy was involved in the matter, Nag submitted, “We are assailing the cause. Others (political parties) might have accepted it.”
Earlier this month, the EC directed political parties to keep a list of booth-level agents ready so that if anything unusual happens during the SIR, it could be “easily noticed”. At the same time, parties were also told to send that list to the Commission in advance.
Nag submitted in the High Court that since the EC has announced SIR in the state, the case should be heard quickly. However, the court rejected the request for an urgent hearing and is likely to list it next week.
On Sunday, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal and other states will be announced in due course. The Trinamool Congress has expressed doubts about the “efficacy” of the SIR exercise in Bengal and vowed to oppose any move by the EC to delete names of genuine voters.
Meanwhile, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also slammed the EC for seeking details of BLAs. “Giving them (the EC) the list means it will end up in the BJP’s hands. In my own case, the documents I submitted to ED reached Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, for which I had to move the court. Every central body to which we give documents or proof passes it to the BJP. That is why we will submit the list a week before the elections,” Abhishek said.