Kolkata, March 4: A 104-year-old man has complained of being listed in the “under adjudication” category in the final electoral rolls issued by the Election Commission following the SIR exercise in West Bengal on February 28, officials said on Wednesday.
Sheikh Ibrahim, a resident of Jamalpur gram panchayat in Purba Bardhaman district, said he has voted in every election since India’s first general polls after Independence and had never faced such an experience.
“Is it a crime to live beyond 100 years? I have always believed in casting votes and exercising my democratic rights. Why can’t I vote this time? This is my country,” he said.
His 70-year-old son said that after his father was called for a hearing at camps “due to some logical discrepancies as claimed by the EC,” EC officials later visited their residence, and all necessary documents were submitted.
“The EC official who conducted the hearing expressed satisfaction and assured his name will be in the rolls. However, after the final rolls were published, we found his name listed ‘under adjudication category.’ We fail to comprehend why,” his son said.
Flagging the matter, the TMC alleged on X that “104-year-old Sheikh Ibrahim, who was born in pre-Independent India and has voted in every election since the first general elections, was summoned for a hearing and subjected to harassment after being included in the ‘under adjudication’ list.” “Can you imagine the extent of harassment he has faced? How much lower will the Commission stoop?” the party asked.
“Do they think they can gift Bengal to the BJP by deleting names of valid voters even before the elections? It is not that easy. Bengal knows how to respond, and it knows how to fight,” the post read.
There was no immediate response from the EC or the BJP to the allegations.
2 kill self due to ‘mental stress’ after publication of post-SIR voter rolls
Two persons died allegedly by suicide in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri and South 24 Parganas districts, due to “mental stress” following the publication of the final list after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, officials said.
Rafiq Ali Gazi (44) was found hanging in his room on Wednesday morning at Gholpara area in South 24 Parganas, a senior police officer said.
Gazi’s name was found to be in the “under abjudication” category in the list, he said.
His family claimed that he was under severe mental stress after finding his name in that category.
In another incident, Gouranga De (62), a momo seller at Jalpaiguri town, was also found hanging in the washroom of his residence on Tuesday morning, police said.
De’s wife claimed that he was extremely anxious after his name featured in the ‘deleted’ category in the final list published on February 28.
“His name was not there in the 2002 voter list, but he had submitted all the required documents during the SIR process, and attended the hearing (to get his name included in the revised voter list),” she told reporters.
Linking De’s death to the omission of his name in the final roll, the ruling Trinamool Congress said in an X post on Wednesday: “Heartbreaking tragedy strikes Bengal once more. A humble momo seller in Jalpaiguri, Gouranga De took his own life after the @ECISVEEP’s SIR mercilessly deleted his name from the voters’ list despite nearly four decades of faithful voting.” Accusing the Election Commission of having hatched a conspiracy with the BJP, the TMC said “this sinister BJP-ECI nexus is implementing a calculated ploy to disenfranchise the poor, the marginalised and Bengal’s rightful electorate on an unprecedented scale”.
“Our Maa-Mati-Manush government stands unequivocally with the people of Bengal. We will fight this injustice through every possible avenue and protect the rights and dignity of our people,” it said.
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had said on March 2 that since February 28, two persons died due to SIR-related panic in West Bengal.
The party had earlier claimed that over 110 deaths occurred due to “SIR stress” in the state since November. (PTI)
