Left parties memorandum to EC

March 9, 2016

A Left parties delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner today and submitted a memorandum concerning some issues in West Bengal. The full text of the memorandum is being released to the press.

The Chief Election Commissioner

Election Commission of India

Nirvachan Sadan

New Delhi

Dear Sir,

We are constrained to draw your attention to certain important issues which certainly will have an adverse impact on the efforts initiated by the Commission to hold free and fair polls for the West Bengal Assembly.

We are, hereby, submitting a video CD of a long interview of the Chief Minister of West Bengal (Annexure 1) to a private Bengali channel (24 Ghanta) on the evening of March 4 immediately after the announcement of the election and the communication of detailed press note by the Commission. What is outrageously shocking is, as if on cue and in response to the official announcement about the security arrangement, she brazenly threatened the voters of intimidation. She candidly stated that there will be no central security force in the state after the polls are over and it will be she alone and her administration which will be around! Whatever reassurances to the voters were communicated through the Commission’s decision, in terms of creating a fear-free environment for the voters was sought to be immediately nullified. The Commission ought to examine this video and take strong action to reassure the voters once again that the model code of conduct does not allow for such blatant threatening to influence the electoral outcome.

The second issue pertains to the blatant misuse of a certain programme of the state government for narrow political interest. In January 2012, the state government had initiated a programme of giving grant to different clubs in the state. During the first year, 2011-12, 781 such clubs were given a grant of Rs. 15.5 crores. In 2013-14, the amount was enhanced to Rs. 40 crores with the additional condition that these grants will be available to the clubs for five years on a continuous basis; for the first year, Rs. 2 lakhs and for the subsequent consecutive four years, Rs. 1 lakh each. Additionally, in 2013 itself, it was decided to extend these grants to 2000 clubs. And the total expenditure on this count increased to little over Rs. 64 crores. Subsequently, in 2014, the number of clubs was increased to 7,000 and the total grants increased to Rs. 150 crores. Therefore, cumulatively, the total expenditure on this account amounted to Rs. 270 crores. Some press clippings are annexed herewith (Annexure 2).

But we do not intend to waste your time on the merits or demerits of the programme. Despite the fact that on a number of occasions, Judges in the High Court have made adverse observations on the nature of the programme. We draw your attention to a programme held on February 28 in Kolkata where one of the top leaders of TMC Shri Sudip Bandopadhayaya, MP, while addressing a programme of the officials of such clubs which have received such grant said that they should take up the challenge of the coming elections and ensure the stupendous victory of the TMC. What he was insisting on was the principle of quid pro quo. This was plain and simple asking electoral favour for the TMC in return of tax payers’ money. Even after extremely critical media reports on the TMC MP’s remarks, on March 5 (a day after the elections had been actually announced), it was on the intervention of the CPI (M) Malda District Committee that the election authorities had to force the calling off of a programme widely publicized in the Kaliachowk Assembly constituency of Malda district, a similar conference of club officials (who are recipients of the grant). These instances make it abundantly clear, that these clubs will be used as bodies for influencing the election. The names of these clubs have been all recommended by the elected representatives of the TMC. The government has never shared these details either on the Floor of the Assembly or elsewhere in the public domain. But it should not be difficult for the Commission to obtain those details from the state government records.

We urge that putting these clubs on the ‘special watch list’ of the Commission and taking pre-emptive steps to stop the possibility of any foul play is imperative.

Meanwhile, several instances have taken place from stopping the opposition from undertaking traditional forms of publicity through graffiti on the walls and other forms within the stipulations of the EC guidelines.

Finally, as was pointed earlier about the extremely difficult situation in the Birbhum–Murshidabad-Bardhaman tri-junction, a major incident has taken place. The location of the explosion is in Murshidabad district. As per official reports, two persons have died when bombs exploded while they were being manufactured. Both belong to TMC and many more have been injured (Annexure 3).

Therefore, the presence of the Central forces and security cover outside the control of the state government with independent assessment over their exact location become further necessary. It becomes essential to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections.

With regards,

Yours sincerely

Sd/-

Sitaram Yechury	D Raja
General Secretary, CPI(M)	Secretary, CPI


Debabrata Biswas	Nilotpal Basu
General Secretary, AIFB	Member, Central Secretariat, CPI(M)


Abani Roy
Secretary, RSP

Left Parties memorandum to the EC

August 27, 2010

We are constrained to bring to your notice on behalf of the four Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, AIFB and RSP – the very disturbing attempts in West Bengal in the run-up to the process of Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls (SRER). While forwarding the memorandum addressed to you on behalf of the Left Front Committee, West Bengal, we would like to draw your focused attention on specific facts which will bring out the humongous magnitude of these attempts which unless defeated will lead to large-scale falsification of the electoral rolls and distort the ensuing Assembly elections as a whole.

In this context, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that we had already met you on August 3, 2010 to initially acquaint you with the problem. Certain major facts have now come to our notice which further reinforces our apprehension.

The total number of Form-6 applications for addition of new names to be included in the draft electoral rolls as part of the SRER is given to be 56,19,057 (Annexure – I). The districtwise break-up of the total number of Form-6 applications shows the unusually inflated total number of applications. This is available in Annexure – II for your ready reference and perusal.

That the number of Form-6 application is unusually high can be made out from Annexure-III. The following table will give a complete picture.

Summary of last three revisions 2006 2007 2008 2009

a) No of electors in Draft Rolls 4,80,95,009 4,78,39,290 5,04,11,682 5,16,12,655

b) Total Additions 25,80,001 20,75,343 14,00,601 13,81,575

c) Total Deletions 28,35,726 11,98,568 2,00,719 6,31,555

d) Net Addition -2,55,725 8,76,775 11,99,882 7,50,020

e) Percentage of Net Addition -0.5 1.83 2.38 1.45

Roughly 56 lakh proposed additions over the total number of electors amounting to 5,24,21,616 works out to a more than 10 per cent increase. Given the fact that the net addition in the preceding four years – 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 – are -0.5 per cent, 1.83 per cent, 2.38 per cent and 1.45 per cent respectively, clearly show abnormality of an unusual magnitude.

Together with this, the Left Front memorandum will show that there are gross attempts to bypass the well-established ECI stipulations for additions of names. The submission of affidavits, patently false methods of certification like school certificates, birth certificates from health centres etc instead of standard procedures indicate an organized effort to falsify the rolls. To be fair, we must also bring out that the Chief Electoral Officer has given a firm commitment in an all-party meeting on August 5, 2010 – “submission of bulk applications as well as affidavits and other documents inconsistent with the norms and rules of the Election Commission shall not be accepted or rejected if received anywhere, prior to enquiry.”

We have been given to understand that the commitment so given is not being strictly implemented. There have been instances of questionable role of certain observers to bring pressure on the block level election officials to turn a blind eye to these obnoxious attempts and legitimize the applications without due consideration as per the directions of the Election Commission.

The magnitude of the problem and the attempted deceit like filing of affidavits which is born – not out of ignorance – but to sidestep the due and impeccable procedures cannot be defeated without your urgent intervention.

We, therefore, forward the Left Front memorandum and the voluminous Annexures to substantiate the contentions contained therein.

We sincerely expect that with the active intervention of the EC, the sanctity and the integrity of the election process in West Bengal will be safeguarded and this will add up to the otherwise fine record of your achievements of the past.

With regards,

Yours sincerely

(Sitaram Yechury) (Basudev Acharia)

Leader, CPI(M), Rajya Sabha Leader, CPI(M), Lok Sabha

(Nilotpal Basu) (Prabodh Panda)

Member, Central Secretariat, CPI(M) MP, Communist Party of India

(Narahari Mahato) (Prasanta Majumdar)

MP, All India Forward Bloc MP, Revolutionary Socialist Party