Kolkata, March 31 (IANS) The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, on Tuesday rubbished allegations raised by Trinamool Congress and the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that voters from other states were being included in the state’s electoral roll through mass submission of Form-6 at the CEO’s office.
“First of all, Form-6 cannot be submitted at the CEO’s office. There is no software in the CEO’s office through which Form-6 could be uploaded or deleted from the website. Form-6 applications are uploaded in the offices of the respective district electoral officers,” the CEO told media persons, just hours after information surfaced that the Chief Minister had written a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar earlier in the day.
The letter alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party agents had been caught submitting thousands of fraudulent Form-6 applications at the CEO’s office in an attempt to infiltrate the Bengal voter list with outsiders.
The Chief Minister also raised the same allegation at an election campaign meeting at Chandrakona in West Midnapore district earlier in the day.
State Women and Child Welfare and Social Welfare Minister Sashi Panja, at a press conference, accused the CEO’s office on similar grounds.
The CEO further refuted Trinamool Congress’s allegations that large-scale Form-6 applications were deliberately and illegally accepted before the forthcoming two-phase assembly polls in West Bengal next month to facilitate the inclusion of voters from other states.
“Form-6, which is meant for inclusion of names in the voters’ list, can be submitted throughout the year,” the CEO clarified.
He also rejected Trinamool Congress’s claims that norms had been flouted by allowing one person to submit more than 50 Form-6 applications at a time.
“In the case of new voters, there is no prescribed rule on how many forms one person can submit at a time. When someone is accused of being a fake voter, the relevant officers verify the voter’s identity by following a specific process, and the report is submitted to the Commission. Accordingly, steps are taken,” the CEO explained.
