Kolkata, 20 January (H.S.) :

Amid the controversy over the Election Commission of India (ECI) issuing a summons to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grand-nephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, in connection with hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in West Bengal, Bose on Tuesday clarified why the ‘linkage column’ in his enumeration form under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process was left blank.

The issue triggered sharp political reactions from Sunday evening onwards. Subsequently, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, issued a clarification stating that the linkage column in Bose’s enumeration form was blank, and therefore he was summoned for a hearing as an “unmapped” voter.

In its clarification, the CEO’s office said, “The claim is misleading. The enumeration form clearly shows that the linkage column is blank. Therefore, he has been called for a hearing like all other similarly placed electors, in accordance with the ECI’s notification.”

Responding to the clarification, Chandra Kumar Bose issued a statement on Tuesday morning on social media platform X, explaining the circumstances under which the column was left vacant. “Neither did I make a mistake nor did I leave the linkage column related to 2002 blank without any reason,” he said.

According to Bose, at the time of filling up the enumeration form, his name did not appear in the 2002 SIR list provided by the ECI, and he was therefore instructed to leave the linkage column blank. He added that subsequently his name was found in another 2002 SIR list.

“I had requested that this information be updated, but evidently that was not possible. This entire episode of confusion could have been avoided had the enumeration form been updated in time,” Bose stated.

He further alleged that a flawed system, implemented in haste without adequate training of staff, has led to widespread confusion. While stating that he had no objection to being called for a hearing, Bose expressed concern over the hardship faced by elderly voters.

“I do have an issue with seeing aged voters standing in queues and falling ill. A more efficient system could have avoided such inconvenience. Hopefully, the next time the SIR process is conducted, it will be carried out in a more professional manner,” he said, concluding his statement with “Jai Hind!”

In his message, Bose also sought to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Election Commission of India, and other concerned authorities to the issue.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh