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Former Indian footballer Mehtab Hossain has received a notice from the Election Commission (EC) of West Bengal to appear for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing, citing a mismatch between his name and the names of his parents.
The notice, received this week, directs Hossain to appear before the authorities on February 1st. However, the former footballer told ANI on Thursday that due to a pre-scheduled match on the same day, he will appear on February 2 at Abdus Shukur High School in Mallikpur, South 24 Parganas. Hossain is not the first sportsperson to be summoned under the SIR process. Previously, notable figures, including women's cricketer Jhulan Goswami, Indian cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla, and Mohammad Shami, had also been called for hearings under the SIR process. All of them complied with the summons and appeared for their respective hearings. The notices have sparked strong criticism from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has questioned the motives behind the SIR process, especially targeting celebrated sportspersons. In a post on X, the ruling party argued that the summons to Mehtab Hossain and other sportspersons was "the true depth of BJP's paranoia." "Sportspersons who wore India on their chest, carried the Tricolour across stadiums, and made the nation proud are now being dragged to SIR hearings to 'prove' who they are. This is the true depth of @BJP4India's paranoia," the post read. Highlighting Hossain's achievements, the TMC wrote, "After Mohammed Shami and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, former India footballer Mehtab Hossain, a man with 33 international caps, who played for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, whose only identity has always been India, is now being summoned over spelling errors." The party continued its attack against the SIR exercise, describing it as a "harassment driven by the BJP's desperation and enabled by the EC." "When even athletes who have represented the nation on the global stage are not spared, it is obvious this SIR is not about electoral rolls, but about harassment, driven by @BJP4India's desperation and enabled by a captured Election Commission," the post concluded. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has repeatedly voiced opposition to the SIR process in West Bengal. Earlier on Sunday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, accusing it of "snatching away" people's voting rights. In a post on X, Mamata Banerjee said she is "deeply distressed" by the EC's conduct, alleging that the poll body is "harassing people" in the name of a "logical discrepancy" in voter lists. "The Election Commission of India is celebrating National Voters' Day today, and what a tragic farce that is! The Commission working as His Master's Voice-- is busy now in snatching away people's voting rights, and they have the temerity to celebrate Voters' Day! I am deeply distressed and disturbed by their conduct today," she wrote. "Instead of complying with the Hon'ble Supreme Court's verdict and working as per rules and norms to provide and protect the democratic voting rights of people, ECI is finding newer and newer pretexts in the name of logical discrepancy to harass the people and try to deny them and take away from them their electoral rights," she added. (ANI)
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