West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has directed district magistrates to strictly adhere to Supreme Court instructions while conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, stressing that people must not be harassed in the name of “logical discrepancies”.
Banerjee unexpectedly joined a meeting on Tuesday at the state secretariat Nabanna, which was being chaired by Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and attended by district magistrates.
“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.
The chief minister’s intervention came amid concerns over how the revision exercise is being carried out at the ground level.
The chief minister said people were facing difficulties due to the SIR hearings over "logical discrepancies", and the issue must be approached with a humanitarian perspective.
"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 said.
Banerjee said that alternative arrangements must be made for voters unable to attend hearings on the designated dates.
She said that while the Election Commission's work must proceed, the state's development programmes should not be disrupted "under any circumstance".
State officials need not be fearful as her government stood firmly with them, Banerjee added.