Jyoti Prakash Mukherjee, Asansol, Paschim Bardhaman -:
Following the instructions of the National Election Commission, the ‘SIR’ hearing process is underway in various blocks of Paschim Bardhaman district, along with the rest of the state. To discuss this process in detail, an all-party meeting was held at the District Magistrate’s office, chaired by the District Magistrate of Paschim Bardhaman, S. Ponnabalam, and attended by the Sub-Divisional Officer, other officials of the district administration and representatives of all political parties recognized by the Election Commission. Besides the hearing process, the meeting also discussed the initial testing of EVMs in preparation for the upcoming assembly elections.
During the meeting, representatives of the political parties presented their views to the District Magistrate regarding the problems and difficulties they were facing in the hearing process. The District Magistrate’s attention was drawn to the issue of how elderly and sick individuals, including those over 85 years of age, were being brought to the hearing centers in some areas. The representatives claimed that the District Magistrate listened to their concerns and assured them that any such problems would be resolved. Overall, the representatives of all parties expressed satisfaction with how the hearing process was being conducted and highly praised the District Magistrate, the Sub-Divisional Officer, and the entire district administration.
The Trinamool Congress clearly stated at the meeting that if even a single name of a legitimate voter is omitted from the final voter list to be published on February 14th in this district, they will strongly oppose it.
