Nudged by the Supreme Court, which described the nine-hour gherao of seven judicial officers in Malda — the latter’s vehicles were attacked too — as a malicious attempt to intimidate the judiciary, the Election Commission of India had ordered a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the mayhem. The results have been revealing. On Friday, it was the Bengal Criminal Investigation Department that arrested Mofakkerul Islam in connection with the confinement of the judicial representatives. Unsurprisingly, the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, who is aware of the pitfalls of such a shameful incident, sought to distance her party from it. Emphasising that it was the CID that had arrested the accused, she attempted to draw a distinction between the efficiency of the machinery that reported to her and the administrative apparatus that is functioning under the aegis of the EC in the poll-bound state. Ms Banerjee also blamed her political adversaries — not only the Bharatiya Janata Party but also the Congress, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and the Indian Secular Front — for the attack that she described as premeditated.
An unbiased investigation would reveal the truth of the matter. Upholding fairness is especially important in this context given how polarised the political atmosphere is in Bengal. But the investigation or the allegations must not deflect attention from the underlying issue: public anxiety on account of probable deletion from the electoral rolls in the wake of the Special Investigation Revision exercise. Some of the numbers are telling. In Malda, where the disturbance took place, estimates suggest that 28% of electors find themselves in the adjudication category; the corresponding figure for Murshidabad — another district dominated by minorities — is 20.4%. Little wonder then that mass demonstrations have taken place — not just in these districts but also elsewhere. The lack of redressal for this constituency could have profound electoral consequences. The Trinamool Congress has been reliant on the support of minorities. But the impact of the SIR has been felt across religious lines; so the BJP has no reason to be content either. The bigger issue is, however, this: the right to vote for bona fide electors cannot be frittered away in a democracy. The concern of the affected voters regarding their electoral future must be addressed at the earliest.