EC appoints 5 senior IAS officers as Special Roll Observers for SIR in West Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission on Monday appointed five senior IAS officers as Special Roll Observers (SRO) for various divisions of West Bengal to oversee the work relating to the SIR exercise, officials said.
Ministry of Defence Joint Secretary Kumar Ravi Kant Singh was appointed the SRO for the Presidency division, while Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary Niraj Kumar Bansod was assigned the responsibility of the Medinipur division.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Joint Secretary Krishna Kumar Nirala was named the SRO for the Burdwan division, Department of Economic Affairs Joint Secretary Alok Tiwari has been made the SRO for the Malda division, and Department of Rural Development Joint Secretary Pankaj Yadav has been appointed the SRO for the Jalpaiguri division.
The EC had earlier appointed retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta as the Special Roll Observer in connection with the SIR, besides setting up a team of 12 IAS officers as Electoral Roll Observers to oversee the key aspects of preparation of the electoral roll and help the DEOs and EROs in taking corrective measures.
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"The appointment of SROs ensures enhanced scrutiny and transparency in the SIR process across all divisions. Their presence will strengthen monitoring and compliance with EC norms," an official at the CEO's office said.
"The observers will supervise electoral roll-related activities and ensure adherence to EC guidelines in their respective jurisdictions," he said.
The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state began on November 4 with the distribution of enumeration forms, which will continue till December 11.
The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 16, and the final voters' list will be issued on February 14, 2026.
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BJP has abandoned its responsibilities as opposition in Karnataka: Priyank Kharge
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday hit out at the BJP ahead of the Assembly session here, alleging that the party has abandoned its responsibilities as an opposition and was instead focusing only on trivial issues.
Speaking to reporters on the premises of Suvarana Vidhana Soudha here, Kharge took a dig at the BJP for remaining silent on matters that fall under the purview of the central government.
Responding to a question that the BJP was going to target the Congress government in the session, Kharge said, "Let them do it. They have abandoned their responsibilities as an opposition."
"The MSP (Minimum Support Price) for maize was supposed to be given by the Central government. They are not asking about that. Similary, the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) for sugarcane is decided by the Centre," he said.
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Kharge further claimed that the Centre owed Karnataka significant dues, but instead the BJP was raising irrelevant issues.
"They owe the state government Rs 13,000 crore in Jal Jeevan Mission. They (BJP) are not going to talk about that. They owe the 15th finance commission allocation for MGNREGA which is yet to come. They are only going to talk about the watches worn by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Sivakumar. That is the intellectual capacity of the opposition in Karnataka," he said.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar reportedly wore similar Cartier watches when the former visited the latter's residence for breakfast on December 2 in Bengaluru, and the opposition BJP has been critical of the expensive watches and has raised questions about it.
