Supreme Court’s entry in West Bengal voter list controversy, sought reply from Election Commission on allegations of fake names and infiltrators. – ..

News India Live, Digital Desk: Once again a fight has started in the politics of West Bengal regarding ‘Voter List’. Following allegations by opposition parties of massive irregularities in the voter list and inclusion of names of ‘fake voters’ Supreme Court Has taken cognizance of this matter. This intervention of the court is being considered as a big step towards ensuring fairness of the upcoming elections in the state.

What is the whole controversy? (The Core Issue)

The crux of the controversy are some alleged discrepancies that came to light during the revision of the voter list:

Allegation of fake voters: The opposition (especially the BJP) claims that the state’s revised voter list includes lakhs of names that either do not exist or the names of the same person are registered in multiple assembly constituencies.

Issue of intruders: The petition has alleged that due to ‘demographic change’ in the border districts, names of suspicious citizens have also been added to the voter list.

Names of the dead: Complaints have been received in many constituencies that names of dead persons have not yet been removed from the list, which can be misused during voting.

What happened in the Supreme Court? (Court Proceedings)

The Supreme Court bench, hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), has taken the following steps:

Notice to Election Commission: The court has issued a notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking what steps have been taken so far to purify the voter list.

Data Verification: The court has sought from the Election Commission a detailed report of the complaints that were lodged by various political parties regarding irregularities in the list.

Emphasis on Transparency: The judges commented that “the first condition of a fair election is a pure electoral roll.”

political reactions

Ruling Party (TMC): Trinamool Congress has termed these allegations as baseless. The party says that the Election Commission is an independent institution and the opposition is already raising questions on constitutional institutions due to fear of defeat.

Opposition (BJP & Others): The opposition parties say they only want the principle of ‘one man, one vote’ to be implemented and the mandate should not be influenced by Bangladeshi infiltrators or fake names.

What will be the next step?

Now everyone’s eyes are on the Election Commission’s reply. If the Supreme Court is not satisfied with the Commission’s response, it can order re-physical verification or special audit of the voter list. This may also affect the election dates.