Kolkata: While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended a Supreme Court hearing on alleged SIR harassment in Bengal, people at different hearing centres across the city queued up to prove their validity as genuine voters.
At Mutty Lal Seal's Free College, around 300 people were called for a hearing on Wednesday. Almost all the voters standing in the queue welcomed the CM's step to speak on behalf of the voters in Bengal who were called for hearings over logical discrepancies. Priti Sarogi, a voter from the Jorasanko area who recently shifted to New Alipore, said, "I did the mapping with my grandmother as my parents are dead. So, between me and my grandmother, the age gap showed below 40 years because she got married at 12 or 13. So today I came along with all the documents, but they are confusing me and asking for copies one after another. The CM moved to the Supreme Court, which is a very good gesture, but I am not sure whether this harassment will stop."
Asif Ali, a resident of Jorasanko, showed a document stating that a person named Alok Santara filed Form 7 against him, claiming he is not an Indian citizen. "A person whom I don't know claimed that I am an outsider when I have valid Aadhaar, voter and PAN cards. I even have a passport. Today, suddenly I got a call from the BLO asking me to visit within an hour. When I called this person, he denied it. It must be a plot designed by some BJP leader to harass me and my family. He did the same with nine others, claiming they are outsiders. Is it so easy to scam anyone only by filling a form? BJP will not win this battle because Mamata Banerjee is here and fighting for valid voters."
Murrium and Usuf were seen standing in a queue as well. Murrium was called for a name-related mismatch with her father. Usuf, her husband, said, "I don't want to judge this process, but the way the entire process went, this could be done more smoothly if it was done over four months instead of two. Not only voters, people who are following the Election Commission's order are also being harassed by such a heavy workload. The purpose was good, but the process was not error-free, which the CM also raised, and that is good for democracy."
Anjum Sabbir was called for the hearing and asked to be present along with his two daughters as proof that he has two daughters. While leaving the hearing centre, he said with a smile: "What do I do if I'm called for such a reason?"
Shahbaz Ajmal, a resident of the Jorasanko area, said: "It's a very good move by the chief minister because she is fighting for every citizen of Bengal irrespective of caste, creed, and religion. Today, I was called because my father has six children. If we are six siblings, then what do we do? Mamata Banerjee is the only CM who raised her voice against this harassment, which is a matter of pride for all of us."