SIR exercise in West Bengal to be conducted with full transparency: CEO

Kolkata, Oct 28 (IANS) The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal, the groundwork for which will begin on November 4, will be conducted with complete transparency and no scope for confusion, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal assured on Tuesday.

“The time for SIR in Bihar was too limited. But in West Bengal, we have ample time to conduct the exercise, so there will be no room for confusion,” Agarwal said, addressing the media.

He explained that the increase in voter numbers compared to 2002 is normal, as many names have been transferred. The upcoming door-to-door survey will commence on November 4, during which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit every household to distribute and collect enumeration forms.

“All information will be uploaded in the BLO app and compared with the 2002 voter list. SIR will be conducted based on that. Each voter will have a unique QR code,” the CEO stated.

Agarwal also clarified that voters who had their names—or even their parents’ names—listed in the 2002 electoral roll will not be required to submit any additional supporting documents to retain their names in the updated list.

“If any voter's name is omitted during the SIR process, a notice will be issued, and a hearing will be conducted. No valid voter’s name will be excluded. The entire process will be 100 per cent transparent,” he assured.

Emphasising that this is not the first SIR conducted in India, Agarwal urged citizens not to panic about the exercise. “At today’s all-party meeting, I requested all political parties to appoint their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for the revision exercise. The BLOs will hold regular interactions with the BLAs of all political parties to ensure fairness and coordination,” the CEO added.

--IANS

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