Mamata Banerjee writes to CEC over role of SROs, micro-observers

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday sent a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, questioning the authority of special roll observers (SROs) and micro-observers.

According to the Chief Minister, these officials had been appointed only in West Bengal to review the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) in the state.​

According to the letter, the Chief Minister’s main contention is that the roles of SROs and micro-observers were not limited to overseeing the SIR process. They had also been designated as approving authorities.​

In her letter to the CEC, Mamata Banerjee claimed that giving this authority to the micro-observers had left the electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) “helpless, isolated and reduced to mere spectators”.​

“It is also deeply disturbing that an exercise governed by a uniform Act and rules applicable across the country is being implemented differently across states, instead of ensuring consistency in process, procedure, and methodology,” the letter from the Chief Minister to the CEC read.​

She further claimed that in the ongoing SIR, the way hearings and logical discrepancy cases are handled, along with the deployment of micro-observers and SROs for back-end verification in West Bengal, is completely different from the practice in other states where similar revision exercises are underway.​

“For West Bengal, it appears that an entirely different set of rules is being applied, contrary to statutory provisions, and for reasons that remain inexplicable. This is wholly against our democratic ethos, federalism, and fundamental rights. It reflects a dangerous design that must be stopped immediately,” the Chief Minister added in her letter.​

She had specifically objected to the appointment of four Indian Administrative Service (I.A.S) officers from the Tripura cadre as SROs, in addition to five other observers from the Centre and 12 from West Bengal.​

“It is reported that some observers are functioning from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and have taken control of the ECI portal without any legal authority. They are allegedly manipulating data to subvert the roll revision process with ulterior motives. It is further alleged that this is being done as a backdoor mechanism for the exclusion and disenfranchisement of a large number of eligible electors,” the Chief Minister claimed.

​IANS​