The office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has clarified that Amartya Sen was issued the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing notice because his name is not in the 2002 list and there is only a 15-year age gap between him and his mother, which needs verification.
While the hearing notice was generated on Tuesday, the Nobel laureate’s family received the notice in his ancestral house in Bolpur in Birbhum district as Sen is currently in the US. The hearing will be conducted at his Bolpur residence as he is 92 years old.
The Election Commission (EC) also clarified that Mohammad Shami and Dev are called for a hearing because the linkage column on the enumeration form was left blank.
The EC states that the logical discrepancies in enumeration forms are due to the 2002 SIR list, where mapping was done manually without a foolproof method for verifying all data house to house or a machine-based process. Therefore, there was no check for logical discrepancies.
The 2025 list, however, is being compiled digitally, and any confusion regarding logical discrepancies is largely due to the inaccurate data from 2002. Additionally, the Bengali database was converted to an English database, involving two levels of conversion.
This time, the EC is trying to prepare a more accurate SIR list with 98 per cent accuracy, but some discrepancies may arise because it is based on the 2002 list. The aim is to include all eligible voters, including those outside the state and country. Those who cannot attend the hearing can submit documents on the ECI website; if verified, their names will be included in the final list.
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There is still some fear of being left out of the SIR among some, such as the Hindu minority Matua community, which originated in Bangladesh. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Shantanu Thakur met President Draupadi Murmu on Wednesday to discuss the social security of the community. Thakur, the MP from Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district (which, along with Nadia district, has a large Matua population), is a prominent figure within the Matua community.
"If it [Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)] has no stand, then why is the EC now giving the CAA certificate importance on the basis on which SIR will be granted? Now West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must provide an answer as to why she opposed this and prevented people from applying for CAA. Are these people not on the backfoot now? The chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) government have to answer."
"The CAA is a lengthy process. I have spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about fast-tracking cases so that their names are included in the SIR (list)," Shantanu Thakur said. "He has assured me he will look into it."
The final SIR list will be released on February 14.
