Prevent systematic pattern of violence, threats against our WB staff: EC to SC

NEW DELHI: Election Commission on Wednesday sought Supreme Court’s urgent intervention to curb and prevent, what it called, a systematic pattern of violence and threats against its officials conducting the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal and alleged that while the CM’s speeches encouraged such situations, police are reluctant to register FIRs against the perpetrators.

Comparing smooth conduct of SIR in other states to that in Bengal where those involved in the roll revision have been “targeted”, EC, in its affidavit, said, “It unequivocally illustrates that the challenges encountered in West Bengal are not intrinsic to the SIR process itself, but are a direct result of the inadequacies of the state machinery and the prevailing climate of political interference therein.”




“This singular and alarming breakdown demands immediate intervention of SC to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process,” it said, adding “the CM has persistently delivered a series of public addresses that are inherently provocative, thereby engendering an atmosphere of intimidation among election officials”.

EC claimed that on Jan 14 the CM, during a press conference, “engaged in fear mongering, disseminated misleading and erroneous information regarding the SIR process, overtly threatened and targeted poll officials, and sought to incite alarm among the electorate”.

“The CM explicitly identified and targeted a micro-observer Hari Das, thereby publicly isolating an election official performing statutory duties and subjecting him to unwarranted pressure and intimidation... gravely compromising the independence, neutrality and safety of election officials,” the poll panel said on a day when CM Mamata Banerjee argued against the roll revision in SC.

As a result, nine micro-observers in Murshidabad constituency collectively wrote to the West Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO), formally withdrawing from the SIR process due to violent assaults perpetrated by miscreants and inadequate security provisions, it said, adding on Jan 15, a mob of 700 attacked the place where SIR work was being carried out in Uttar Dinajpur district.

Complaining that police authorities are reluctant to register FIRs on complaints lodged by booth level officers (BLOs), EC said, “In certain instances, FIRs were documented only subsequent to intervention by the district election officer, with arrests occurring belatedly thereafter.” It said other state police have promptly registered FIRs on complaints by EC officials.

Given the ground situation, the Centre has provided ‘Y+ security’ cover to the WB CEO, the only officer among his peers in all states to get such security cover, EC said.
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