Shankar Ghosh, the BJP MLA of Siliguri, reached the SDO’s office here on Thursday and submitted a memorandum addressed to Bengal chief election officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal, urging steps to help voters whose names have been deleted during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.

“There are people whose names were deleted either before the publication of the February 28 list or after scrutiny by judicial officers. In case they want to file a petition, they can do it online or physically at the office of the district election officer (district magistrate),” said Ghosh.

“Considering the geography of the Darjeeling district and that a section of people still do not have digital access, it is inconvenient for them to travel to Darjeeling to file the petitions. That is why we have requested (the CEO) to set up at least one office in each Assembly constituency of the district for the convenience of these people,” he added.

In his letter, the MLA also requested that adequate time be provided to people whose names have been deleted or are under adjudication to make fresh applications seeking enrolment in the
voter list.

“There are some who were placed in the under adjudication category. Later, their names were deleted. However, many of them cannot check the status online. Thus, we have urged for public display of such names in government offices so that people can come, look up their names and do the follow-up steps, which include filing a fresh application. We do not want the name of any genuine voter to be struck off,” Ghosh, who is also the party’s chief whip in the Assembly, said.

He alleged that a section of booth-level officers (BLOs) was disinclined to receive new applications offline.

“We suspect a section of state government employees associated with the SIR is trying to impede the process. This is unacceptable. The administration and the EC should look into it,” the MLA said.