- Nitin Nabin blamed Bengal government for 91 lakh voter name deletions
- The deletions were based on state officials' proposals, said Nabin
- Delay in claim settlements was caused by state government, not Election Commission, he added
The onus of 91 lakh voters being knocked off the voters' list is not on the Election Commission, but on the West Bengal government, BJP chief Nitin Nabin told NDTV today. In an exclusive interview with NDTV Editor-in-Chief and CEO Rahul Kanwal, Nabin said the Election Commission ultimately works in line with the recommendations of the administrative officials, who are representatives of the state government. As for the delay in incorporation of names after hearing of claims, those were also a result of the delays induced by the state government, which should have helped the process instead of impeding it at every step, he said.
The voter deletions that happened in the border districts of Bengal -- "If the Election Commission has taken a tough decision there, that decision is based on the proposals of the DM and the SDM (district magistrate and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate)," he said.
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Directly invoking the Chief Minister, Nabin said "Mamata Didi (Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) keeps playing games" with her allegations against the Election Commission.
"What is the Election Commission? It is a body that works around the state administration," he said, asserting that the proposal for deletion of names had come from the state.
"This proposal has not gone from Delhi. It came from Kolkata to Delhi. This has to be understood. Who are the DM and HDO? They are the administrative officers of the state government. The proposals for these 92 lakh (deletions) have come from them and it is the Election Commission's job to approve of that proposal," Nabin said.
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"If they are the ones certifying and justifying, it is for the benefit of the people of Bengal. Or would you allow the Bangladeshis to vote?"
As for timely settling of claims at tribunal hearings, enough time was given, Nabin said, pointing out that the process went on for four months. "It was two months for us (in Bihar)," he said.
"So in the four-month process, the whole BLA, machinery -- this does not come from the Center. The BLA is also appointed by the state government. So if the state government did not join them or did not bring them into the process of filing a complaint, this is completely the state government's fault," he added.
Of the total number of names initially kept out if the voter lists in Bengal, 60.06 lakh names were kept under review. This was done to address discrepancies in names - such as variations like 'Chattopadhyay' for 'Chatterjee,' or 'Bandopadhyay' for 'Banerjee'.
Following a verification process, 35 lakh of these names were reinstated in the electoral list, while around 25 lakh names were permanently deleted. The rest were to be settled by the tribunals which were to here the claims and adjudicate. But this process could not be completed in time and despite an extension allowed by the Supreme court, lakhs of people in the state have been unable to vote.
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Asked about them, Nabin said, "Who is to blame for that?"
"The 27 lakhs that you are talking about, were they not given a chance? Was it not the responsibility of the state government to run things on time? But they postponed, stopped, harassed. They kept things on hold in such a way that we could not decide. There were elections in other states too. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala," he said.
He said in Bihar, despite all the protests and ruckus, there was not a single complaint the day the final voter lists were published. "Even the BLAs (booth-level agents) of the Congress did not file a complaint. So where is the theft of votes?" he added.
The first phase of the two-phase polling in Bengal is being held today, in which 152 seats across 16 districts are up for election. The votes will be counted on May 4 after the second phase of election on April 29.
