SIR: Dead woman on voters list but husband, son off in Bengal | India News

KOLKATA: Seventy-year-old Meena Jalal, who was under the SIR, never knew in her lifetime that she qualified to be a voter. The voter from Chowrangi Assembly constituency died on March 27, days before the EC announced the final list on April 9. Although she qualified, her husband Jalaluddin Ahmed Siddique did not pass the trial, nor did her son Imran Zaki. Both went to the tribunal. His other three sons and one daughter qualified as “voters” after submitting enumeration forms. “He was sick and under stress because he knew he would not be able to vote in the assembly elections, but when his name was cleared by the EC, he was no more – irony of fate. He had voted in all the past elections, and this time he suffered a bit… As he was ill, the BLO came and collected all the documents,” said social entrepreneur and educationist Imran Zaki. “We had all our names in the 2002 SIR, and still, after sharing all the information and documents, we are being harassed continuously. They are not giving any reason as to why our names were deleted. There should be transparency from the EC. They are playing hide and seek with an evil motive.” “Our family has lived in Weston Street in Baubazar for more than seven decades, where our grandfather Nazir Ahmed, who was with the British Police, lived and we still live in the same building,” added Zaki. She said her father, an 81-year-old businessman and social worker, was “very worried” as he feared he would not be able to vote this time. He added, “We belong to this country and are associated with the city since the British era. How can they erase our names? It is a mockery of the democratic system. We hope to be listed soon.”