West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has raised concerns about the authority of special roll observers (SROs) and micro-observers in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. She highlighted that these officials were appointed solely in West Bengal for reviewing the special intensive revision (SIR) in the state. Banerjee emphasized that the roles of SROs and micro-observers extended beyond overseeing the SIR process to acting as approving authorities, leaving electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) feeling marginalized.
In her communication to the CEC, Banerjee criticized the different implementation of electoral processes across states, stressing the need for consistency in procedures. She expressed dismay over the handling of hearings and discrepancies in West Bengal’s SIR, noting significant deviations from practices in other states conducting similar revision exercises. Banerjee condemned the application of divergent rules in West Bengal, labeling it as contrary to statutory provisions and democratic principles, urging an immediate halt to such practices.
Banerjee specifically objected to the appointment of four Indian Administrative Service (I.A.S) officers from the Tripura cadre as SROs, along with other observers. She alleged that some observers were unlawfully operating from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and manipulating data on the ECI portal to undermine the roll revision process. The Chief Minister accused these actions of being a covert strategy to disenfranchise eligible voters through exclusion tactics.
