Bengal SIR a ‘threat’ to our jobs: Professionals, government staff move court | India News
Deletion of teachers to doctors, SIRs disenfranchises Bengal (file photo)
KOLKATA: A senior central government official in a PSU, an assistant teacher in a government school, a medical professional preparing for the national entrance exam and an insurance agent whose license depends on his voter status — all went to the Calcutta High Court last week to seek their livelihood after their names were deleted from Bengal’s voter list during the SIR.Justice Krishna Rao told their lawyers that the pleas would be heard at a later date, that no relief would be granted before the elections or before his examination in the case of a doctor.Removal of SIR has disenfranchised 27 lakh people in the state The four pending petitions now raise a dimension that goes beyond franchise.
Applicants flag Fear of citizenship In the electoral purge
Petitioners argue that for employees and licensed professionals, removal from voter rolls calls into question their citizenship, which can lead to departmental action, suspension of services and even license cancellation.One of them, a 40-year-old PSU assistant general manager of Murshidabad’s Bhagwangola Assembly constituency, has been in the job for over a decade.His name appeared in the draft list released on December 16 last year, but he was called up for hearing because of a “clerical discrepancy” in his father’s name in the 2002 record. He submitted 11 documents but did not make it to the final roll. His appeal before the Designated Tribunal was unsuccessful.“The sudden removal of my name from the roll creates a cloud of doubt about my citizenship, which… may jeopardize my service benefits, or act as a bar to continued employment,” his petition read.A similar application was made by the assistant teacher. “SIR took a lot from these people, their right to vote is an important loss. Now, these people are worried about their jobs and whether this deletion will complicate things in their professional lives,” his lawyer told Justice Rao on April 28, seeking an urgent hearing.A 52-year-old insurance agent from Nadia’s Tehatta, whose name was included in the 2002 list, went to court to face the prospect of having his license revoked.“His position is not merely a source of livelihood but one of public trust… The arbitrary deletion of his name from the electoral roll directly threatens the validity of his insurance license and agency appointment,” his lawyer said.For a 32-year-old medical professional from Kaliganj constituency in Nadia, proving that he is a “genuine citizen” is a prerequisite for appearing for the nationally important combined entrance test conducted by AIIMS Delhi and scheduled on May 16. His parents and three brothers passed the SIR exam but he did not.The young man, who staffed his home at Kolkata’s Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, hopes judicial intervention will “not only restore (his) legal right to vote but also save (his) career”.
