The Catch Up: Nitish Kumar to file Rajya Sabha nomination (5 March)

0:00So, just to get like a context for our listeners, could you start by telling them a little bit about where the SIR process is right now in West Bengal? Yes, you know the SIR processing West Bengal started in November with the enumeration form distribution. But, like other state, during the enumeration form, it was not, the lecture source was told not to submit any papers with the enumeration form, just fill up the enumeration form and submit it to the BLOs. After submitting the enumeration form, the draft list was published on December 16th. In the draft list, only those were mapped with 2002 or progeny mapping was there. They were just listed in the draft electoral role.

1:04And those were not marked as an unmapped and their hearing started after December 16. And after that, the main thing was started that is logical discrepancies in Samhit, where one man or one parent has more than six children or father as in Samh's age difference is less than 15 or more than 50 or grandfather's age distance is also like that. More than less than 40 or more than 50. So like this, some algorithm created by the Election Commission and through AI, they generated the hearing process basically on logical discrepancies and sent notice to those electors.

2:12And after the dependencies hearing started, almost left and TMC those except other than BJP, all political parties vehemently protested that logical discrepancies and one CPM member Moussari Banu went to a Supreme Court challenging the process of ECI of the logical discrepancies. And also TMC also challenged it in the Supreme Court and Mamta Vanakji on our own went to Supreme Delhi and was present in the hearing and asked to Supreme Court to start off the logical discrepancies. However, the hearing continues for 10 to 15 days and then Supreme Court ordered to send

3:14those logical discrepancies cases to the judicial officers and 531 judicial officers hired from West Bengal and as well as from Uri Shah and Jharkhand, they are now basically checking those hearing documents of the electors around 60 lakhs of the electors. And after that, they will give the final decision whether those electors' name will be on the final list or not. And final list already published, but those who are in this mark that those whose cases are on the judicial officer's court marked as adjudicant cases, that's now the situation. And you did mention this in passing that Banu, is what kinds of issues are they referring

4:19to? Basically, there are multiple cases those micro observers and as well as the role observers faced and also got like, you know, one electoral submitted his father's epic card, that is AI general, the epic card from Gemini and it submitted to the EROs. And his cases also passed by the ERO. Then micro observer, the super checking started, role observer and micro observer started super checking. They found that the father's, generated epic card is AI generated and one gave

5:26this the micro observers and role observers found, which is in the one minute. In Bangalore assembly, one case found by the micro observer that is Janatullamulla who submitted his father's voter ID card, which according to ECI, that his father's ID card was generated through Google AI software, Gemini. And I think on day, we're in hurry to submit that epic card. So the Gemini logo was there in the epic card at that basically, Utsumipakara area. And he was all for hearing as there was a miss back in his father's name and also the

6:27eighth gap, which his father was more than 50 years. After finding this micro observer stopped that role observer basically stopped, stalled their permission to giving him as a legal voter. So like that, they also found that many ICDS card was generated from many punctures, especially in Canning, Purwo assembly, constituency. You know ICDS card only used to give to lactating mother, though after a birth of a child within six months of a birth of a child. But in many cases, these ICDS card was generated for the male person, ICDS card generated more

7:32than 50 years of a female person. So that cases also found in a much more number. Some cases during super checking, some cases was found that birth certificate were identified where they were issued before the birth of the electoral. Like in Mundirvajar assembly, there was a case, Abu Tahir Mir submitted it birth certificate where his date of birth was mentioned at 1311 2003. But his birth certificate was issued 711 2003. So six days before of his birth, the birth certificate was issued. So like that, many more discrepancies found during the super checking and those all anomaly also sent to further checking on judicial officials in the number of the 60 lakhs, which are under consideration of judicial officials.

8:35So role observers are saying that in many cases, ARO and ARO did not upload that documents, the electors submitted during the hearing process. The physical document they have submitted, but that was not uploaded in the ECI net, ARO net, that was given by election commission of India. So in that case, Supreme Court also asked judicial officers that they will check both the uploaded documents and also physical documents, those electoral submitted in the time of hearing. That is it. And as you mentioned that in the first phase itself, there has been a revolution of 58

9:38lakh names and now it could be pushed to 68 lakhs. So talk about how significant this number is. I don't think that up to till date, till date the number is not very significant because you know, already those states who have gone through the SIR, they have Gujarat, UP, Keral, Tamil Nadu, all states have, before final list, they have more than 10% deletion they faced. West Bengal is only faced 8 to 8.5% deletion up to final list. But interesting part of that deletion is the huge number of deletion happened in those assembly where Motuas are the dominant caste in those assembly.

10:40So it can be, you can draw inference that those who came from Bangladesh and did not have sufficient documents are excluded from the electoral role, the final electoral role. And that number is huge. You can see the huge deletion happened in some assembly constituency, not Chappish Parvganas, some assembly constituencies in Nadia, some assembly constituencies in Siliguri as well. So those which are adjacent to Bangladesh border. So it is very significant. And second significant thing is that 60 lakh electoral's name which are under judicial officers' consideration. In the 60 lakh number, huge number is from, basically from four or five districts.

11:40One is Moshidabad, second is Mulda, third is Sauta Bhish Parvgana, fourth is not Bhish Parvgana and fifth is Haurar. All five districts are hugely populated with minority communities. And that's why both CPM and TMC are saying that is a conspiracy to delete the genuine voters from the minority community and that is doing ECI, they are alleging, basically. These are the significant things during the SIRI. If you consider the deletion. And so what options does the voter have if their name appears or is flagged during this revision process? What can they do? If their name is deleted, already deleted, they can again apply through form six for a new voter. But yes, that continuation of voter card will not, will do, their name will be included

12:47in the electoral role as a new voter after submitting form six. And they have to submit all the documents like election commission already announced those 13 document along with other card that is some ID card given by central government, some ID cards given by state governments, passport and other things. So those are the, and already you know Supreme Court also allowed secondary education admin card, admin card of secondary education examination, certificate of secondary education examination, those also allowed. So they have to submit those documents with form six and they can reenroll, they can enroll their name in the electoral role. That is the only process left if their name will be deleted or already deleted from the

13:49electoral role. And so earlier when you know, spoke about that instance where a deceased voter's case was actually approved during the hearing. So how are authorities responding to this kind of gap, you know, in the system? Yeah, there are many gaps in the system, you know, during the hearing one boy came over in the hearing and asked basically informed in the hearing table that his father who was called in the hearing died two days ago. Even after that, he informed and did not submit any documents of his father. Even after that year of approved his hearing process. So some type discrepancies are there. Election Commission is saying that they are identifying those officials who did such

14:53illegal things and star action will be taken against them after the essay or process will be completed. And so lastly, you know, as we are approaching this, you know, final electoral role, what challenges do you think still lie ahead for ECI to be honest? Yeah, main challenge is to ECI from the very beginning is saying that all no genuine voter will be excluded from the electoral role and no illegal voter or illegal voter will be included in the electoral role. That is basically the main challenge for the election commission. If at least one illegal electoral will be in the electoral role, that is also labeled

15:57election commission as they basically not fulfilled their aim. So if one genuine voter will be excluded from the electoral role, that is also good, not good for the ECI. So that is the main challenge for the ECI to make a full proof electoral role for the election and also for the country's sake. I think I've covered everything from Mayan, but if I've missed anything and you'd like to talk about it. No, no, no, it's all right. Okay, so thank you so much. No, no, no, it's all right. No, no, it's all right.