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Election Commission and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee locked horns over the legality of engaging micro-observers by the poll panel for SIR work, the issue of spelling errors in names leading to categorisation of voters under ‘logical discrepancy’ and issuance of notices to them, and the “hurried manner” of scrutiny of voters’ identity.Mamata alleged EC was illegally employing micro-observers, who are officers from BJP-governed states or Union govt officials, as electoral officers, who are indiscriminately deleting names from rolls.EC counsel Rakesh Dwivedi said micro-observers are engaged following due process. They had to be engaged as the WB govt, despite several written requests from EC, has not provided adequate number of Class-II officers of SDM rank to carry out the scrutiny work, which involves adjudication.EC said given the fact that 1.5 crore notices were issued after finding that scrutiny is needed for over 2.1 crore voters, including the 58 lakh absent, shifted and dead, “the electoral roll of 2025 with such questionable sanctity can’t be used to conduct upcoming assembly polls (in Bengal) as this would put the entire poll and the legitimacy of the elected govt under a cloud of doubt.”The bench said no one can dispute that dead persons and illegal migrants must be removed from voters’ list but at the same time no citizen, who is a Bengal resident, should be removed from the list, it said. Mamata and advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the state govt, said of the 1.36 lakh ‘logical discrepancy’ category voters, EC has heard only 88 lakh people till date, and claimed that to complete the hearing for 63 lakh more, EC will need time beyond the Feb 7 deadline. The bench said it will extend the deadline, if needed.
