The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday served a hearing notice to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in connection with the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The notice
seeks a hearing of the 92-year-old economist on January 16 at his residence. It was issued after a “logical discrepancy” was found in the enumeration form submitted during the revision process.
Sen is currently abroad, officials said. The notice was therefore served on a member of his family at Santiniketan in Bolpur, where the economist’s ancestral home is located. Sen’s cousin confirmed receiving the notice and said he would inform him about the matter.
A senior official at the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) clarified that only one notice has been served to Sen. “There is only one notice served to Prof Sen. There were some logical discrepancies found in the enumeration form submitted by him, and for this reason, he has been asked to appear for a hearing. Since he is above 85 years, the BLO concerned will be visiting him at his residence for the hearing as per the EC rules,” the official said.
The discrepancy relates to the age difference between Sen and his mother, as recorded in the form, which was found to be less than 15 years. As per EC rules, voters above the age of 85 are entitled to hearings at their residence. Accordingly, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) concerned will visit Sen’s home for the hearing, the official added.
The EC also clarified that the Nobel laureate does not need to appear for a hearing in such cases. An official said minor errors, including spelling mistakes in the voter list, can be corrected administratively by Booth Level Officers at the local level and do not affect a voter’s eligibility or rights.
The development has sparked a political row in the state. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongly criticised the EC and called the move a “shameful farce”.
On Tuesday, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee had alleged that serving SIR notices to eminent personalities like Sen amounted to “insulting the people of Bengal”.
The BJP and the Election Commission rejected the charge. However, the TMC continued to attack both, accusing them of pursuing a “Bangla-Birodhi (anti-Bengal)” agenda.
In a post on X, the party said it was unacceptable that a Nobel laureate of Sen’s standing was issued a hearing notice. The TMC alleged that the SIR exercise was being conducted at the behest of the BJP and was aimed at targeting Bengal’s icons.
(With inputs from agencies)
