TMC MP claims 4 of her family 'unmapped', called for SIR hearings

Trinamool Congress MP Kakali Ghosh Dastidar on Saturday claimed four members of her family have been called for hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, and accused the Election Commission of harassing the voters.

The MP's two sons, mother and younger sister received the hearing notices.

Dastidar's mother and younger sister reside in Madhyamgram area under her Barasat Lok Sabha constituency, while her two sons have their residential addresses in south Kolkata.

"It is baffling why the names of my two sons - whose father is a former West Bengal minister and mother an MP for several terms - have not been mapped. It is also incomprehensible that the names of my nonagenarian mother and sister - both long-time voters in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district - were suddenly omitted from the draft electoral roll," Dastidar claimed.

She alleged that the SIR of the electoral rolls is "nothing but harassment of my family".

The MP, whose husband Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar was a former minister and a doctor by profession, said her "unmapped" family members might visit the camp later in the day.

Both of her sons are also doctors.

The EC had said those aged 85 or above won't have to go all the way to the hearing centres and would be visited by its officials at their residences.

"Let's see. But I will take up the issue of unmapping genuine voters in a big way," she said in response to a question.

The hearings under the SIR were underway in West Bengal on Saturday with people queuing up in front of 3,234 centres across the state, a senior official said.

Around 32 lakh "unmapped" voters, those who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll, would be called for hearings in the first phase, he said.