news from the cpi(m)
August 27, 2010
Press Release
A delegation of Left parties MPs met the Chief Election Commissioner and submitted the following memorandum today. The delegation consisted of Sitaram Yechury (leader, CPI(M) in Rajya Sabha), Basudev Acharia (leader, CPI(M), Lok Sabha), Nilotpal Basu (Member, Central Secretariat, CPI(M)), Prabodh Panda (Communist Party of India), Narahari Mahato (All India Forward Bloc) and Prasanta Majumdar (Revolutionary Socialist Party).
(Hari Singh Kang)
For CPI(M) Central Committee office
Dear Sir,
We are constrained to bring to your notice on behalf of the four Left parties - CPI(M), CPI, AIFB and RSP - the very disturbing attempts in West Bengal in the run-up to the process of Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls (SRER). While forwarding the memorandum addressed to you on behalf of the Left Front Committee, West Bengal, we would like to draw your focused attention on specific facts which will bring out the humongous magnitude of these attempts which unless defeated will lead to large-scale falsification of the electoral rolls and distort the ensuing Assembly elections as a whole.
In this context, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that we had already met you on August 3, 2010 to initially acquaint you with the problem. Certain major facts have now come to our notice which further reinforces our apprehension.
The total number of Form-6 applications for addition of new names to be included in the draft electoral rolls as part of the SRER is given to be 56,19,057 (Annexure - I). The districtwise break-up of the total number of Form-6 applications shows the unusually inflated total number of applications. This is available in Annexure - II for your ready reference and perusal.
That the number of Form-6 application is unusually high can be made out from Annexure-III. The following table will give a complete picture.
Summary of last three revisions
2006
2007
2008
2009
a) No of electors in Draft Rolls
4,80,95,009
4,78,39,290
5,04,11,682
5,16,12,655
b) Total Additions
25,80,001
20,75,343
14,00,601
13,81,575
c) Total Deletions
28,35,726
11,98,568
2,00,719
6,31,555
d) Net Addition
-2,55,725
8,76,775
11,99,882
7,50,020
e) Percentage of Net Addition
-0.5
1.83
2.38
1.45
Roughly 56 lakh proposed additions over the total number of electors amounting to 5,24,21,616 works out to a more than 10 per cent increase. Given the fact that the net addition in the preceding four years - 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 - are -0.5 per cent, 1.83 per cent, 2.38 per cent and 1.45 per cent respectively, clearly show abnormality of an unusual magnitude.
Together with this, the Left Front memorandum will show that there are gross attempts to bypass the well-established ECI stipulations for additions of names. The submission of affidavits, patently false methods of certification like school certificates, birth certificates from health centres etc instead of standard procedures indicate an organized effort to falsify the rolls. To be fair, we must also bring out that the Chief Electoral Officer has given a firm commitment in an all-party meeting on August 5, 2010 - "submission of bulk applications as well as affidavits and other documents inconsistent with the norms and rules of the Election Commission shall not be accepted or rejected if received anywhere, prior to enquiry."
We have been given to understand that the commitment so given is not being strictly implemented. There have been instances of questionable role of certain observers to bring pressure on the block level election officials to turn a blind eye to these obnoxious attempts and legitimize the applications without due consideration as per the directions of the Election Commission.
The magnitude of the problem and the attempted deceit like filing of affidavits which is born - not out of ignorance - but to sidestep the due and impeccable procedures cannot be defeated without your urgent intervention.
We, therefore, forward the Left Front memorandum and the voluminous Annexures to substantiate the contentions contained therein.
We sincerely expect that with the active intervention of the EC, the sanctity and the integrity of the election process in West Bengal will be safeguarded and this will add up to the otherwise fine record of your achievements of the past.
With regards,
Yours sincerely
Sd/-
(Sitaram Yechury) (Basudev Acharia)
Leader, CPI(M), Rajya Sabha Leader, CPI(M), Lok Sabha
(Nilotpal Basu) (Prabodh Panda)
Member, Central Secretariat, CPI(M) MP, Communist Party of India
(Narahari Mahato) (Prasanta Majumdar)
MP, All India Forward Bloc MP, Revolutionary Socialist Party
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