EC publishes list of voters deleted from draft electoral rolls in Bengal under SIR 2026
Kolkata (PTI): Barely hours ahead of the publication of the draft electoral rolls of West Bengal, where assembly elections are due early next year, the Election Commission on Tuesday morning released the names of deleted voters on its website.
The list features voters whose names were included in the electoral rolls of the state in 2025 but were deleted from the draft rolls of 2026.
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The list is currently available on the commission's portal link ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in/asd_sir.
The number of "uncollectable SIR enumeration forms", according to commission sources, exceeds 58 lakh, and were deleted on grounds of either remaining absent from their registered addresses, permanently shifted, dead or marked as 'duplicate' voters in more than one constituencies.
"Aggrieved persons can submit their claims in Form 6 along with the Declaration Form and supporting documents after publication of draft roll during the period fixed for receiving claims and objections i.e. 16/12/2025 till 15/01/2026," the commission website stated.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly are due early next year.
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Cong's countrywide protest on Wednesday against VB-G RAM-G bill replacing MGNREGA
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress will hold protests across the country on Wednesday against the Centre's rural employment bill VB-G RAM G that seeks to replace MGNREGA, claiming it was a "BJP-RSS conspiracy" to dismantle a rights-based welfare scheme and attack Mahatma Gandhi's legacy, workers' rights and federal responsibility.
The opposition party's general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, in a letter to all state Congress presidents, urged them to organise protests at all district headquarters.
These protests must be held with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, symbolising resistance to the erasure of his name and values, and highlight how the proposed law will impact the crores of beneficiaries of MGNREGA, he said in the letter.
"The combined attack on Gandhiji's legacy, workers' rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre," Venugopal said.
The opposition has strongly objected to the introduction of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday.
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The Congress and other opposition MPs also staged a protest in Parliament House complex over the Centre's move.
In the letter to the Congress state unit chief, Venugopal said that on December 28, the party's Foundation Day, programmes should be organised at all blocks and villages, with Mahatma Gandhi's portraits, reaffirming the party's commitment to the dignity of labour, social justice and the right to work.
"This is both a political and moral struggle. The Congress must lead from the front to defend MGNREGA, Gandhiji's legacy and the constitutional promise of justice for the poorest," Venugopal said in a post on X.
In his letter, he said the BJP government has taken an alarming and deliberate step by introducing a bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
"This is not a routine legislative exercise. It is a calculated political move to weaken a historical, rights-based people's law and to erase Mahatma Gandhi's name and values from India's most recognisable welfare legislation.
"This combined attack on Gandhiji's legacy, rights and federal responsibility exposes a larger BJP-RSS conspiracy to dismantle rights-based welfare and replace it with charity controlled from the Centre," he noted.
