Suspended Trinamool Congress leader and Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir expressed support for the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the suspension of seven Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state. Kabir, who recently launched the Janata Unnayan Party, stated that such actions should have been taken earlier to address malpractices by government officials during the SIR process. The ECI had earlier directed the state government to suspend and file FIRs against officials involved in electoral roll malpractices.
The ECI’s decision to suspend the AEROs came after allegations of dereliction of duty surfaced during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision in the state. Last year, the ECI had instructed the state government to take action against two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and two AEROs for their involvement in electoral roll malpractices. The West Bengal Chief Secretary’s office faced criticism for only partially implementing the ECI’s directive by suspending the officials without filing FIRs against them.
Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, also commended the ECI’s actions, emphasizing the need for strict enforcement of election laws. Adhikari highlighted the significance of the ECI’s intervention in the SIR process and mentioned the possibility of filing FIRs if required. He pointed out that the suspended officials had violated multiple guidelines of the Election Commission, including accepting fake school certificates and PAN cards during the SIR process.
