Kolkata: Among those who are being summoned for hearings during the ongoing SIR process in Bengal is a former parliamentarian. Ex-Lok Sabha MP Tarun Mandal, who also served the central govt as a medical officer, appeared for the hearing on Tuesday. Even after the hearing, Mandal was uncertain whether he passed the trial by fire to prove that he was a legitimate voter.
The former MP was at his ancestral place in Murshidabad on party work on Sunday when he received a call from the BLO asking him to appear for the hearing on Tuesday. He rushed to Howrah, where he was a resident for years, for the hearing.
"I was told that my name was not in the 2002 list, and hence the BLO asked me to come for the hearing. I was compelled to cut short my programme and return to Howrah to attend the hearing at College Ghat Road PWD office," the former MP said.
Mandal contested in the 15th Lok Sabha elections as an SUCI candidate from Jaynagar LS constituency. After winning the election, he served as an MP until 2014.
The medical graduate from Medical College Kolkata, prior to his political innings, also served as chief medical officer (CMO) at the India Security Press Hospital and took voluntary retirement in 2007.
During the hearing, officials sought to know why his name did not figure in the 2002 electoral list and asked for documents establishing the mother-son relationship. Mandal submitted the two required papers.
"All information about me is at the click of the mouse, as digital records are available from the website of the Parliament. This is a mockery of the big talks the govt projects about Digital India. Or is it that the Govt of India, through the election, is desperately trying to find out if some Bangladesh national sneaked into the Parliament as its member?" asked Mandal.
He said that, as a citizen, he was voting for about four decades, whether the election was for the local body, state assembly, or the Lok Sabha.
"Even as the BLO said that I would not receive any more calls for hearing, there was no commitment as to when my name will appear in the list. So, I am still uncertain. But I am worried for the common people who are facing the same harassment. Many lose their day's work as they run around collecting documents and appear for the hearing," he added.