Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again raised serious questions about the role of Election Commission in the ongoing SIR of voter list. In a fresh two-page letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, she expressed concern that certain decisions of the Commission may favour a particular political party.
According to the CM, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has informed the government that contractual data-entry operators or Bangla Sahayak Kendra employees cannot be used for SIR work. Instead, the CEO’s office has proposed hiring 1,000 data-entry operators and 50 software developers for one year through a tender process. Mamata questioned the need for such recruitment when district-level offices already employ data-entry operators for this work. She pointed out that district offices have the authority to make contractual appointments during emergencies.
“If staff are already available at the district level, why is the CEO’s office bypassing them and proposing year-long recruitment from outside?” she wrote.
She further asked whether such steps were being taken under pressure from any political party for vested interests. She also raised doubts about the timing and manner in which the recruitment proposal was introduced.
She also expressed concern over reports that ECI is considering using private buildings as polling stations.