On August 1st, the Chief Minister of West Bengal suddenly announced that he had information that out of 27 lakh voters whose names had been deleted, only 7 lakh had appealed to the tribunal; the remaining 2 lakh had not done so because their citizenship was questionable. He further stated that all these infiltrators would be sent back to Bangladesh !
Can just anyone be sent back to Bangladesh across the international border at will? Is the Chief Minister unaware that despite the creation of numerous videos over the past few months, no one could be repatriated—and that even after forced attempts, individuals like Sunali Khatun had to be brought back? Leaders and ministers alike, including the Chief Minister, are well aware that no one can be sent back to Bangladesh in this manner unless the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) accepts them in accordance with the law. Thus, it is not unreasonable to surmise that the entire affair is essentially a grand charade. The fact remains that even Himanta Biswa Sarma—with his much-touted “56-inch chest”—admitted in the Assam Legislative Assembly on July 8th that, although 36,000 people had been declared foreigners in Assam since 2021, only 196 could actually be sent back to Bangladesh. Needless to say, the BJP and RSS’s hollow rhetoric regarding “crores of infiltrators” is becoming increasingly exposed to everyone.
Yet, the attempt to prove the presence of illegal infiltrators in West Bengal continues, the latest manifestation of which is the Chief Minister’s aforementioned announcement. The question arises: who informed the Chief Minister that only 7 lakh voters whose names had been deleted have applied? Reports from villages in Malda, Murshidabad, and the two 24 Parganas districts indicate that people have applied in droves—almost frantically—with 99% of these applications submitted online. These applications were facilitated by Panchayat authorities prior to the elections, or individuals submitted them via cyber cafes. This data was uploaded to the Election Commission’s website and, at most, forwarded to the Tribunals at Joka. So, how did this information reach the West Bengal government? At best, they might possess data on the offline applications submitted to District Magistrate (DM) or Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) offices—which accounts for no more than 1% of the total applications. Another possibility is that they have access to the application receipts that ration dealers collect from people as proof—since having an appeal number for pending tribunal application makes one eligible for government schemes like the public distribution system (ration). But is it plausible that the documents and information, submitted locally, would reach the government travelling through ration dealers and food inspectors within such short timeframe? Consequently, it is far more logical to conclude that this is likely a final, desperate attempt—yet another *jumla* (empty political gimmick)—to prove the existence of at least 20 lakh infiltrators in West Bengal (down from the earlier claim of 1 crore). Underlying this may also be a malicious intent to deprive many people of their rights. Over the past three months, this government has engaged only in hollow bluster, stoking fear of bulldozers, pushing an unsigned West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities bill, 2026 (anti-goonda bill) and making a failed attempt to capture Jadavpur University using Hindi-speaking figures and student leaders accused of rape. But where is the remedy for the injustice of depriving people of their fundamental rights?
The solution to each of these problems actually hinges on the operational procedures of the tribunals. Over 34 lakh applications—filed by the 27 lakh individuals whose names were excluded—are pending before 19 tribunals housed in a single office at Joka, Behala. However, the functioning of these 19 tribunals remains opaque; two judges overseeing Kolkata and the two 24 Parganas districts have already resigned, and it is unknown whether replacements have assumed charge or if all the tribunals are even sitting daily. Indeed, obtaining such information is impossible; the judges are assigned to work in a fortress-like facility cordoned off by security forces and inaccessible to the public, with no details emerging regarding the daily volume of applications or the specific adjudication methods employed. There is no opportunity to appear before the judges to present one’s case or submit documents. Discussions during Supreme Court hearings have revealed only that 70% of the adjudicated applications result in the restoration of voting rights; however, the process is agonizingly slow—likely resolving only 38,000 cases over the past four months—implying it would take 30 years to clear the backlog of 34 lakh applications. Meanwhile, the harassment of these individuals continues unabated. In some instances, ration supplies have been cut off, and many are denied benefits under the Annapurna Yojana, leading to widespread resentment. Furthermore, they and their family members face obstacles when attempting to apply for any of the 11 documents previously declared valid for proving citizenship during the SIR phase—issues that are difficult to resolve without a tribunal verdict. Additionally, children of these individuals may face complications in registering as voters upon reaching adulthood. Perhaps the most critical issue concerns the upcoming census: how will these ‘deleted’ voters be categorized? Will they be included in the count or excluded? And if excluded, how much complicated will their situation become? They are forced to confront these grave uncertainties simply because the tribunals are keeping their applications in limbo—a situation entirely beyond their control.
All in all, the situation facing ‘deleted voters’ under the SIR process is dire. For the past ten months, they have submitted documents and run from pillar to post, yet the uncertainty persists. The ‘Sangrami Gana Mancha’ believes that the time for merely exchanging paperwork have come to an end. Much like the recent experiences of students, it is becoming increasingly clear that taking to the streets is the only remaining option. Therefore, in the current climate, one clear demand must be raised: “Stop the stalling tactics and immediately reinstate our names in the voter list.” Achieving this demand requires more than just knocking on the doors of the judiciary; success is only possible if thousands of people take to the streets alongside the legal process. Since the activation of the tribunal to reinstate names currently rests with the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, it has become imperative to submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice, accompanied by thousands of people. The ‘Sangrami Gana Mancha’ has organized just such a program. On Wednesday, September 2nd, at 12:30 PM, a procession of thousands of deleted voters will commence from Ramlila Maidan (Moulali) and proceed to Esplanade (Dharmatala) to submit the memorandum to the Chief Justice. The rallying cry will be: “Reinstate the deleted voters, expedite the tribunal’s work, and complete the process by December.” We remain hopeful that the Honorable Court will take steps to resolve the grievances of so many people. However, if no resolution is reached, the street-level struggle will intensify; furthermore, if necessary, we will take the fight for our voting rights all the way to the Supreme Court in Delhi, rallying the people behind us. One way or another, this uncertainty must be brought to an end.
Timeline:
October 27: SIR (Special Intensive Revision) announced in West Bengal, using the 2002-04 ‘Special Revision of Intensive Nature’ as the benchmark.
November 4: Enumeration began.
December 16: Draft list published after excluding 58 lakh names (deceased, relocated, or missing persons); hearings regarding ‘reasonable discrepancies’ commenced, with approximately 1crore 36 million notices issued.
February 20: Following questions raised by various quarters in West Bengal regarding the Election Commission’s motives behind this ‘reasonable discrepancy’ exercise, the Supreme Court ordered that the verification of the 60 lakh unresolved cases be handed over to judicial officers instead of the Election Commission.
February 28: Election Commission published the final list; 5.5 lakh names were excluded following hearings concerning 76 lakh entries, primarily from Hindu-majority areas.
March 5: ‘Sangrami Gana Mancha’ submitted memoranda to the High Court and the Election Commission, demanding that the election be held based on the draft list.
March 10: Supreme Court ordered the formation of tribunals led by former judges to handle cases of excluded individuals.
March 20: Offices for 19 tribunals began operations at Joka, Behala, under the management of the Election Commission.
March 23: Judicial officers began releasing the results of the 60 lakh hearings in phases, and excluded voters started filing appeals with the tribunals.
April 9: Judicial officers published the final list after completing 18 rounds of review; 27 lakh names were excluded out of 60 lakh applications.
April 21: 139 names (including one Congress candidate) were reinstated via the tribunals; 8 applications were rejected.
April 23: First phase of voting.
April 27: 1,468 names reinstated via the tribunals; 5 applications rejected; a total of 1,607 voters regained their voting rights across the two phases.
April 29: Second phase of voting.
May 4: Election results declared; BJP emerged victorious.
May 7: Resignation of former Justice T. Sivagnanam, who was in charge of the tribunals for Kolkata and North 24 Parganas.
July 1: Resignation of former Justice Ranjit Kumar Bag, who was in charge of the tribunal for South 24 Parganas.
July 17: Gopal Sankaranarayanan informed the Supreme Court that, by this time, the tribunals had resolved only 38,000 out of 34 lakh applications. September 2: Grand rally by the Sangrami Ganamancha and submission of a memorandum to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court demanding the speedy resolution of tribunal cases.
