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Amid claims of Amartya Sen being summoned over Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Chief Electoral Office of West Bengal has clarified that the notice to the Nobel laureate was issued after the Electoral Roll Officers' Network (ERONET) portal flagged a "logical discrepancy".
The Chief Electoral Office of West Bengal said that the age difference between Professor Sen, who is a voter in the Bolpur assembly constituency in West Bengal's Birbhum, and his mother, Amita Sen, was less than 15 years. It said that the notice for Amartya Sen was generated "in parity with the other discrepancy cases". "The Enumeration Form of Amartya Sen an overseas elector, was received by his family member Shantabhanu Sen who linked him with his mother Amita Sen. Since the age difference between the elector and his mother was less than 15 years, logical discrepancy was flagged by the ERO Net Portal," the CEO West Bengal said in a post on X. The authorities further clarified that since Professor Sen was over the age of 85, the concerned officials, along with the Booth Level Office (BLO), had visited his residence to complete the formalities. "Notice was generated for Dr Amartya Sen in parity with the other discrepancy cases. Since the elector is aged 85 years plus, ERO/AERO along with BLO have visited his residence and completed the formalities," the CEO West Bengal said. This explanation comes after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) criticised the move, calling it a "shameful farce". The TMC alleged that the ECI is targeting prominent personalities from Bengal. "A Nobel laureate should be above any suspicion, right? But what if he's a Bengali? Then he'll be slapped with hearing notices as if he were some common criminal. This is the cynical, shameful farce of BJP and ECI's SIR process. They will drag our icons through the mud, tarnish our pride, and stoop to any low if it serves their Bangla-Birodhi agenda of division and degradation," TMC posted on X. Congress also criticised the ECI for asking Nobel laureate Amartya Sen "to prove his citizenship". "Gyanesh Kumar has tarnished the credibility of the Election Commission, and that too only because he wants to please his boss Modi. Sending a notice to Amartya Sen is tragic. The Election Commission and Narendra Modi should apologise for this," Congress posted on X. Meanwhile, the BJP said that ECI has sent the notice only to "clarify the anomaly" over the age difference between him and his parents. The BJP further accused the TMC of believing in "differential treatment". "While TMC may believe in differential treatment in West Bengal, where some individuals appear to be above the law, Indian democracy does not allow such exceptions. Under the Constitution, every citizen is equal before the law, from a ragpicker to a billionaire," the BJP posted on X. (ANI)
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