The Trinamool Congress on Sunday accused the Election Commission of subjecting elderly, ailing and differently abled voters to “inhuman treatment” by summoning them to attend hearings away from their homes as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The hearings for “unmapped” electors began on December 27, even as queues formed early on Sunday outside 3,234 centres across the state where people gathered with documents, hoping their names would remain on the voters’ list.
TMC MP Partha Bhowmik, addressing a press conference, alleged that elderly and infirm voters had been asked to physically appear at camps despite long-standing practices of home visits by polling personnel.
“This is nothing short of torture. The Election Commission sends polling personnel to the residences of elderly persons due to mobility issues. Why could they not follow the same procedure this time?” Bhowmik asked.
He claimed that the issue had been repeatedly flagged by Trinamool leaders during meetings with the Election Commission but was ignored. “We condemn such behaviour,” he said.
Echoing the criticism, senior minister Sashi Panja described the EC’s approach as “inhuman”, saying elderly citizens, the sick and persons with disabilities were being forced to endure severe hardship.
“They are facing immense difficulty in reaching camps at the appointed date and hour. The EC must immediately arrange for hearings at their homes by lowering the age limit for such a facility from 85 years,” Panja said.
She also raised questions over the scale of the exercise, claiming there was confusion over why such a large number of people had been summoned.
“There are reports that nearly 1.36 crore people will be called for hearings, yet the EC has not clarified on what basis they were excluded from the provisional voters’ list despite having data,” she said, demanding a category-wise break-up.
The criticism comes as the Special Intensive Revision entered its second day, with long queues reported across districts.
According to officials, around 32 lakh “unmapped” voters — those whose names could not be linked with the 2002 electoral roll — are being called for hearings in the first phase.
The exercise follows the publication of the draft electoral rolls on December 16, after which over 58 lakh names were deleted on grounds such as death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms.
At the Sankrail block office in Howrah district, 75-year-old Sabita Manna waited inside an ambulance, struggling with the process. Afflicted by polio since childhood, she had been brought for the hearing after reports emerged of discrepancies in her voter details.
“My aunt, who has no child, could not find her name in the 2002 electoral roll. She cannot walk properly. Earlier, polling officials came home. This time they made her physical presence mandatory,” said her nephew, Tapas Manna.
Speaking softly from inside the ambulance, Sabita said, “It hurts when, at this age, you have to prove your citizenship all over again.”
Similar scenes unfolded elsewhere. In Barasat’s Kazipara area, Nirufa Khatoon stood anxiously beside her husband after being called for a hearing because she could not produce proof that her father had voted in 2002.
“I was born in Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas. After marriage, I moved to Kazipara. My father passed away and his name is not in the electoral roll, and my mother died soon after my birth,” she said. “I am on the edge.”
Her husband said they had brought all possible documents. “She has her school leaving certificate, birth certificate, Aadhaar, ration card and voter ID. The BLO had assured us things would be sorted out,” he said.
In Midnapore town, around 100 residents from Hatath colony gathered at a nearby camp after finding that only a few members from each household had made it to the draft roll.
“Only two out of ten names in a house are there. The rest have been asked to appear. I was born in Bangladesh but came here in the late 80s and have voted regularly. I have many documents. I am a Hindu married into a family with ancestral property here. They won’t deport me,” said a woman, requesting anonymity.
In Bardhaman, a family arrived at a camp without the voter concerned. The 26-year-old woman could not travel as her three-year-old daughter is undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
“I have brought her medical records and all documents. Let us see what the AERO and micro observer say,” her father-in-law said.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MLA and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said many voters may no longer need to appear for hearings.
“Many people who were unmapped due to technical glitches, despite submitting all data, do not need to attend hearings anymore. I have been informed by CEO officials that they need not come until the EC fixes the linkage issues with the 2002 electoral roll,” Hakim said.
The Election Commission has not yet issued a fresh clarification on the concerns raised by political parties and voters, even as hearings continue across the state.