West Bengal BDO Under ECI Investigation for Meeting on Voter List

Synopsis

A Block Development Officer in Nadia district, West Bengal, is being investigated by the ECI for convening an unauthorized all-party meeting on electoral roll revisions. The CEO's office has noted the complaints raised by the Leader of the Opposition, highlighting concerns over the BDO's authority and potential bias.

Key Takeaways

BDO's actions questioned by ECI
Unauthorized all-party meeting held
Complaints raised by Suvendu Adhikari
Final voter list published on January 5
Call for action against biased officials

Kolkata, March 1 (NationPress) A Block Development Officer (BDO) in the Nadia district of West Bengal has attracted scrutiny from the Election Commission of India (ECI) for reportedly organizing an all-party meeting to discuss the post-revision tasks related to the special summary revision of the electoral roll in the state, all without obtaining prior approval from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

This issue was raised to the attention of the CEO's office by Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal, who asserted that the BDO of Santipur lacked the jurisdiction to hold the meeting. One of the meeting's agendas included providing a list of booth level agents and identifying deceased voters as well as those who have relocated, despite the final voter list being published on January 5 this year.

Any attempt to revise the list must be an exception and can only occur following explicit instructions from the CEO of West Bengal or the ECI, which did not happen in this instance. Consequently, the BDO has overstepped his authority.

According to sources within the CEO’s office, they have acknowledged the validity of the complaints made by Suvendu Adhikari regarding the BDO's actions exceeding his official powers.

“This matter has been communicated to the ECI's office in New Delhi, and the CEO's office is currently awaiting further instructions,” they stated.

Adhikari also mentioned that the BDO may have exceeded his authority in an attempt to appease Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who earlier this week during a party meeting accused the BJP of including voters from other states in the electoral rolls of West Bengal via two private agencies, allegedly with the help of certain state government employees involved in managing the electoral rolls.

“The BDO must understand that his responsibility is not to cater to the political aspirations of Mamata Banerjee and fulfill her arbitrary requests,” the opposition's letter asserted.

He has also urged the ECI and the CEO's office in West Bengal to take decisive action against such bureaucrats and ensure that biased officials are excluded from participating in the electoral process.