Kolkata, 05 January (H.S.) :

West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday backed the Election Commission of India’s decision to not recognise domicile certificates issued by the state government as valid proof of identity during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He argued that the Commission’s position was legally sound, alleging that many such certificates had been issued without following due process.

Adhikari’s remarks came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging that state-issued domicile certificates be accepted during hearings on claims and objections related to the draft voter list published on December 16.

Responding to the Chief Minister’s appeal, Adhikari said he had also written to the Chief Election Commissioner, explaining why domicile certificates should not be treated as valid identification documents for voter verification. He maintained that the Election Commission was acting correctly by refusing to accept them.

The BJP leader said that domicile status is governed by clear legal provisions and cannot be granted arbitrarily. He pointed out that individuals who have lived in a particular location for less than 10 years are not eligible for domicile certification, and any deviation from this norm undermines the credibility of such documents.

Adhikari further alleged that the state government was attempting to protect ineligible names in the voter list, including those of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants, by pushing for the acceptance of disputed domicile certificates. He claimed that administrative decisions taken solely to facilitate the issuance of such certificates had raised serious questions about their legitimacy.

He also described the Chief Minister’s letter to the Election Commission as politically driven, alleging that it was aimed at obstructing a constitutional process that could expose long-standing irregularities in the electoral rolls. According to Adhikari, the ruling Trinamool Congress had benefited electorally from these flaws over the past decade.

Questioning the Chief Minister’s approach, Adhikari also took exception to her use of the official Chief Minister’s letterhead to raise what he described as party-political concerns, saying such representations should have been made in her capacity as the Trinamool Congress chief.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh