Widespread protests have broken out across West Bengal against the ongoing SIR process, as Left parties and democratic organisations raise serious concerns over the deletion of voters’ names and the growing attack on the right to vote. Demonstrations were held by CPI(ML) in several places including Kolkata, Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman, Naihati and Siliguri, where people voiced anger against amid the systematic attempt to disenfranchise sections of the electorate.
A joint march of Left parties reached the office of the State Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata on 4 March. Protesters gathered outside the office and continued their demonstration throughout the night after the CEO refused to meet the delegation. The following day a delegation was finally allowed to meet the CEO and submitted a memorandum demanding an immediate halt to the SIR process and restoration of voters’ rights.
During the protest, speakers highlighted multiple instances in which voters discovered that their names had been marked as deleted or placed under adjudication without any proper notification. People received no clear explanation for the action and were given neither adequate time nor institutional assistance to rectify discrepancies. This situation has generated widespread confusion, distress and anger, particularly among economically weaker and marginalised sections of society.
On 9 March, CPI(ML) Liberation West Bengal State Secretary Abhijit Mazumdar wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner raising strong objections to voter deletions and the attack on voting rights carried out under the name of the SIR process.
The letter states that millions of voters have been placed under suspicion in the name of verification and rational inconsistency. Instead of a routine administrative revision of the electoral roll, the process has become a mechanism that threatens to strip large numbers of citizens of their democratic rights.
At the ground level the process has placed unbearable pressure on ordinary people. Citizens face repeated demands to produce documents to prove their eligibility as voters. This reverses the basic responsibility of the state and the Election Commission. In a democracy the right to vote is a constitutional right of citizens, not a favour granted by authorities. The duty of the Election Commission is to safeguard this right rather than forcing citizens to repeatedly prove their entitlement.
Questions have also arisen over the timing of such an aggressive revision exercise just ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. The move raises concerns that what is presented as an administrative procedure is in fact a political strategy aimed at selective voter exclusion. Serious concerns have also been raised over the misuse of Form 7. In several areas organised efforts have been made to submit objections in bulk to remove voters’ names from the rolls for political purposes. The Election Commission has not taken effective steps to prevent this misuse.
The CPI(ML) Liberation have demanded the immediate suspension of the SIR process in West Bengal. They have also demanded that all genuine voters whose names have been deleted or placed under suspicion be restored to the electoral rolls. Strict measures must be introduced to prevent the political misuse of Form 7, and the Election Commission must ensure full transparency and public accountability in the entire process.
Speakers at the protests emphasised that the right to vote forms the foundation of India’s democratic system. Any administrative process that casts doubt on the voting rights of millions of citizens constitutes a grave threat to democracy.
At demonstrations across the state, protesters declared that the people of Bengal will not accept this dangerous attempt at disenfranchisement carried out at the behest of the fascist regime led by Narendra Modi. The movement against the attack on voting rights is set to intensify in the coming days as democratic forces continue to mobilise across West Bengal.
