- TMC MLA Akhruzzaman allegedly threatened a female election officer at an SIR camp in Murshidabad
- The minister demanded receipt copies for all who attended SIR hearings, citing court orders
- BJP accused the TMC of interfering in the SIR process and harassing election officials and voters
Days after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA from West Bengal's Murshidabad district threatened the Election Commission over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, the party's MLA from Raghunathganj and Minister of State for Power Akhruzzaman was seen allegedly threatening a Block Development Officer during an SIR camp.
In video accessed by NDTV, Akhruzzaman walked inside an SIR camp and allegedy threatened a female election officer during a heated argument. At the SIR (Special Summary Revision) camp at Teghari Kisan Mandi in Raghunathganj, Murshidabad, the minister said that according to the court's order, receipt copies must be given to those who came for the hearing at an SIR camp.
He is seen asking the election officer, "Have you come here to act as a BJP agent?" Leaders accompanying the minister also threatened the woman, saying, "A minister has come before you, and you are sitting and talking to me and you don't even bother to stand up?"
The BDO of Raghunathganj Block 2 was also threatened and told that everyone who came for the hearing must be given a signed and stamped receipt copy or the MLA's men will lock them inside the camp.
The minister claimed common people were facing harassment during SIR hearings. He clarified, "These camps do not even have proper toilet facilities for women. We are seeing many have fallen ill during hearing. It is an attempt of EC to delete names of genuine voters from the voter list."
BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya said, "The Chief Minister and her party have been interfering in the SIR process from the very beginning and are continuously trying to disrupt the process. They are forcibly making various BLOs (Booth Level Officers) upload false information. They are unnecessarily harassing respected members of society and elderly people".
Accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress of creating ruckus, Bhattacharya said, "They are setting things on fire. They are even vandalising the BDO offices in various places. There have also been incidents of attacks on BLOs. This situation is reccurring in West Bengal. Such a scenario is not seen anywhere else in India. The Chief Minister of West Bengal wants to go into the elections with Bangladeshi Rohingya voters and deceased voters".
With inputs from Gopal Thakur
