Kolkata, February 17: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has suspended seven Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) due to negligence during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated on Tuesday that these officials will not be removed from their positions.
Banerjee addressed the media, saying, “They will not be involved in any election-related work. However, the state government will assign them to alternative roles. I am confident they will perform well there.”
The Chief Minister accused the ECI of unilaterally suspending the seven AEROs without giving them a chance to defend themselves. She claimed that the commission has been intimidating electoral officials and interfering with the state government’s jurisdiction. “I urge the commission to operate in a more democratic manner,” she added.
Sources from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal clarified that the suspension was based on actual violations of guidelines set by the ECI for the SIR.
A source from the CEO’s office stated, “No one was given unlimited authority. There were sufficient grounds for the suspension of the seven AEROs. They were repeatedly accused of negligence in their duties, which led to their suspension under legal provisions.”
The source further explained that supervisors and micro-supervisors involved in the SIR had warned these seven AEROs against violating ECI guidelines, but they continued to act arbitrarily despite the warnings, necessitating their suspension.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister accused the Election Commission of using artificial intelligence (AI) to remove the names of actual voters from the electoral rolls. Without naming anyone directly, she indirectly criticized the commission’s Director General of Information Technology, Seema Khanna.
Banerjee alleged that a woman appointed by the BJP was using AI to delete the names of genuine voters from the list. She also noted that the commission is not adhering to the Supreme Court’s directives in this matter.
–
Leave a Comment