Former Rajya Sabha MP and retired IAS officer Jawhar Sircar, who previously served as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, has demanded an explanation regarding the filing of over 16 lakh appeals against voters. In a letter to current CEO Neelam Meena, Sircar questioned the authority behind these appeals, noting that the affected voters had already been found eligible by judicial officers during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
This letter, dated November 13, is Sircar's second attempt to get an answer. He noted that his first letter, sent on October 22, remained unacknowledged and unanswered for three weeks. Sircar stated that this lack of response reflects poorly on the courtesy of the civil service and casts doubt on the traditional neutrality of the CEO's office.
Sircar also raised queries regarding a special drive for "left-out electors." He asked if this drive is open to all missing voters or only those on the "Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate" (ASDD) list. He highlighted that a commission letter from October 1 instructed booth-level officers to identify everyone missing from the rolls, which would include 27.16 lakh deleted by judicial officers and 5.46 lakh deleted via Form 7.
Furthermore, Sircar questioned whether the roughly 22 lakh voters who appealed to SIR tribunals are included in the enrolment process, as some have reportedly been turned away from special camps. He specifically asked if an electoral registration officer (ERO) can enrol a voter whose appeal is pending after being struck off by judges, given that the commission's letter designates the ERO as the competent authority to act as deemed fit.
