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NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday personally addressed concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, urging district magistrates to ensure that voters face no inconvenience over “logical discrepancies.”Banerjee made the remarks during an unexpected meeting with district magistrates at the state secretariat, Nabanna, which was chaired by chief secretary Nandini Chakraborty.
“The CM made it clear that all hearings related to SIR must be conducted strictly in accordance with the apex court’s directives. She specifically instructed officials to ensure that people are not put to inconvenience under the pretext of logical discrepancies,” a senior official said.On the difficulties faced by voters during SIR hearings, the CM called for a humanitarian approach. “She underlined that documents declared valid by the Supreme Court must be accepted during hearings without exception. District magistrates were also instructed to ensure that receipts are issued after documents are submitted,” the official added.Banerjee also stressed that alternative arrangements should be made for voters unable to attend hearings on the designated dates. She said that while the Election Commission’s work must continue, the state’s development programmes should not be disrupted “under any circumstance.”The Supreme Court had on Monday directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the ‘logical discrepancies’ list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices, where documents and objections can also be submitted. The apex court also granted electors an additional 10 days to submit documents to confirm their inclusion in the state electoral roll.The latest directions have brought relief to several voters in Kolkata who were summoned for hearings after discrepancies were found in their voter records.
