Abhishek warns BJP on Form-7, instructs party workers to protest at ERO offices

Flagging Form-7 as the new flashpoint in the ongoing SIR exercise, Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Friday accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate the voters’ list and directed party workers to stage peaceful musical protests ~ marked by Rabindra Sangeet and DJ beats ~ if rival leaders sought to delete names from the rolls.

Addressing a party meeting at Midnapore College Ground on Friday, Trinamul’s national general secretary Mr Banerjee struck a combative note, warning BJP leaders against submitting Form-7 applications to electoral authorities. In a remark laced with irony, Mr Banerjee said that if BJP leaders attempted to submit more than 10 such forms before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), Trinamul workers should “politely play Rabindra Sangeet, and even a little DJ music.”

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The controversy gathered momentum after thousands of Form-7 documents were allegedly recovered earlier this week from a BJP leader’s vehicle in Bankura’s Taldangra Assembly constituency.

During the meeting, Mr Banerjee sought to identify Trinamul booth-level workers present at the venue and issued them specific instructions. “Between 16-19 January, camps will be held outside ERO offices. Our representatives will be there. If any small, medium or big BJP leader or their workers turn up to get voters’ names deleted, give them a proper musical welcome,” he said.

The Trinamul leader’s comments come in the backdrop of the Election Commission extending the deadline for the ‘Claims and Objections’ phase of SIR. The original deadline of 15 January has now been pushed to 19 January, allowing voters and political parties additional time to submit Forms 6, 7 and 8. Mr Banerjee questioned the rationale behind the extension, alleging that it was done because BJP leaders failed to submit Form-7 applications within the earlier deadline.

“If they had managed to submit their forms on time, there would have been no need to extend the deadline,” he claimed.

Escalating his attack on the Election Commission, Mr Banerjee once again raised the issue of deceased voters allegedly remaining on the electoral rolls. At the meeting, he referred to three such voters and named them ~ Bijoy Mali and two others of the same name as Mongoli Mandi ~ claiming they were officially listed as alive. Taking a swipe at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Mr Banerjee remarked sarcastically that a special scheme for cataract surgery should be launched in Bengal. “They cannot see living voters, but somehow manage to find ways to delete their names,” he said.

Mr Banerjee alleged that the larger objective behind the exercise was to rob people of their voting rights.