Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 28 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has added 32 lakh unmapped cases to the 'Logical Discrepancy' (LD) list in West Bengal with the intent of confusing voters, despite the Supreme Court directing the Commission to make all LD cases public.

Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Moitra said, "We met the CEO West Bengal for the second time in one week and this is post the Supreme Court hearing where the Supreme Court very clearly said that the harassment of people in Bengal should stop and that the number of LD (Logical Discrepancy) cases which are upwards of 1.3 crores should be published very clearly for everyone to see. They took till 24th to do it, and they have published both LD and Unmapped together"

Also Read | FIR Filed Against Singer Anjali Bharti Over Derogatory Remarks Against Amruta Fadnavis, Wife of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis; Political Uproar Follows.

She further alleged, "The 32 lakh unmapped cases they have put inside the LD list and published it, which frankly is meant only to confuse and muddle voters even more, because inside this list you have some marked LD, some marked UD. We are dealing with people who are not much educated."

Moitra also raised concerns regarding the appointment of micro-observers (MOs) in the electoral process.

Also Read | 7:11, 4:47, 3:24, or 19 Minutes 34 Seconds Viral Video Traps: Why Governments Must Act Now.

"So far, the CEO of West Bengal has always told us that we don't know anything and that the EC is doing everything from Delhi. Today, we pointed out to him that we have a letter dated the 19th of December from the EC to the CEO of West Bengal, which states that the West Bengal CEO asked for micro-observers, and that we agree to your proposal and you can appoint ERMOs (Electoral Role Micro Observers). Nowhere in the Representation of the People Act is there room for a micro-observer. Nowhere in the 2009 ECI guidelines is there room for a micro observer. Nowhere in the 2023 manual is there room for a micro observer," she said.

She added, "We had something called a role observer. A role observer has been charged with super-checking of District Election Officers (DEOs). A role observer is that of a post of a divisional commissioner or higher. In Bengal, they have taken micro observers who are LIC employees, post office employees and bank clerks and put them in."

"Now, what they have done completely illegally, on WhatsApp, sent a message to all DEOs saying, "Please create logins for micro observers." How can micro observers be given a login ID for the disposal of an EC as a role observer, which is a statutory task? A non-statutory post cannot do a statutory task. Where does a micro observer in law have the power to agree and disagree with an ERO who has full quasi-judicial authority? Election Commission was trying to play games, but ultimately we will win and Gyanesh Kumar knows that," she added.

The Supreme Court on January 19 had directed the ECI to display the names of electors falling under the 'logical discrepancies' category in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A three-judge bench led by CJI Surya Kant issued directions to the ECI on various pleas alleging procedural illegalities in the SIR exercise in West Bengal.

The apex court noted that the ECI has issued notices to certain persons described as falling under the 'logical discrepancies' category. Thus, with a view to enabling persons included in the category, the Court issued a direction to display the names of such persons at Gram Panchayat Bhavans, Block Offices, and Ward Offices.

The court asked the state government to provide adequate manpower to the ECI and the State Election Commission to entertain the documents and objections and to adhere to the hearing process for persons likely to be affected. In this regard, directions shall be issued by the ECI/State Government for the deployment of adequate personnel.

Persons likely to be affected shall be permitted to submit their documents before the authorised officers. The apex court instructed that an authority letter be issued in this regard. The bench instructed the persons in the category who have not submitted their claims and objections to do so within 10 days.

According to the directions issued by the court, notices for the submission of documents or objections may be submitted at the Gram Panchayat Bhavans. The Election Commission of India shall issue necessary instructions for facilitating the submission of documents by all interested persons.

The Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal has been asked to ensure that there is no law and order issue and that the entire exercise is completed smoothly.

The court stated that wherever the objection is found to be satisfactory, such persons shall be given an opportunity of hearing in accordance with the procedure already prescribed by the ECI in its Standard Operating Procedure. The hearing may be conducted at the time of submission of the objection itself.

The Electoral Roll Officers' Network (ERONET) portal had flagged more than 1.2 crore names under the 'logical discrepancy' category, which had sparked a fresh row over the SIR exercise in the state.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee had termed 'logical discrepancies' a "dubious category."

Accusing the ECI of working on the behest of the BJP, Mamata had said, "Acting at the behest of the BJP, ECI carried out SIR in Bengal in a reckless and ill-planned manner, resulting in the deletion of nearly 58 lakh names from the electoral rolls. When even this massive purge failed to satisfy the BJP's political objectives, a new and dubious category called 'logical discrepancies' was invented, forcing 1.36 crore voters to face hearings without the Commission even disclosing the complete list of names." (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)