Kolkata, January 3 (IANS). The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday directed the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal to ensure that there is no interference by booth-level agents (BLAs) or representatives of any political party during the ongoing hearing sessions on the draft voter list in the state.
These hearings are part of the second phase of the three-stage Special Intensive Review (SIR) process in West Bengal.
The Election Commission of India’s direction comes in the wake of recent incidents in Hooghly and Cooch Behar districts, where hearing sessions were allegedly disrupted and forcibly closed following the intervention of three Trinamool Congress MLAs, including a senior member of the state cabinet.
According to sources, the MLAs demanded the presence and entry of their party’s BLA during the hearing sessions, which led to disruption.
The Commission has also directed the CEO’s office to direct the District Magistrates and District Election Officers to take necessary action in case of similar interference or attempts to forcibly stop the hearing sessions in any district.
“In its instructions to the CEO office, the Commission has said that it is necessary to eliminate BLA or political interference from any party to maintain fairness, neutrality and transparency in the hearing process,” a senior official from the CEO office said.
Earlier this week, the ECI had clarified why Trinamool Congress party’s demand to allow BLA was rejected in the ongoing hearing sessions on claims and objections related to the draft voter list.
The Commission said that by accepting such demand of Trinamool Congress, it would have to allow similar participation to other political parties registered in the state, including six national parties and two state parties.
–IANS
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