Kolkata: In a letter to the Election Commission (EC), BJP neta and leader of opposition in the Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday refuted the charges CM Mamata Banerjee had levelled against the poll body and alleged that the Bengal govt had used "flawed methods" to grant domicile certificates. On the other hand, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya alleged that "thousands of voters" were unable to submit case certificates at Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearings due to the "inefficiency of the administration".
Adhikari claimed there had been a spurt in issuance of domicile certificates and said, "Domicile certificates cannot be used if the person has not been staying in one place for 10 years." "Hearings are scheduled with clear notices specifying reasons and required documents. They are being conducted largely in a decentralised manner at the block level to minimise travel for voters. Allegations of hardships faced by the elderly are a rare phenomenon," he added.
Alleging that the CM's letter was meant to mislead, Adhikari said the nearly 50,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) and electoral registration officers (EROs), were trained for the SIR process and a "seamless IT system" was put in place. "The EC's adaptive approach, in fact accelerated resolutions, earning plaudits from the civil society," he wrote.
"When the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was being rolled out, Trinamool tried to scare people and disturb communal harmony. However, thousands of CAA applications have been submitted so far, granted citizenship and not a single Muslim Indian was sent out of the country. It is the same with SIR. They are trying to dislodge the process by spreading false narratives," he added.
Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya, in an X post, wrote: "The Calcutta High Court has cancelled many other backward class caste certificates issued after 2011. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court. People are unable to use these caste certificates either during the SIR hearings or (for) centrally-sponsored schemes. Instead of blaming the administration for its inefficiency, the CM has blamed the SIR."
"Trinamool is opposing SIR and trying to prevent deletion of duplicate and false entries in the electoral roll. The voice of (the) poor and marginal population is being muted due to these duplicate, ghost and false voters," Bhattacharya added.