Bengal minister Shashi Panja receives SIR notice

West Bengal minister Shashi Panja on Sunday said she has received a hearing notice under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state and alleged that the exercise was being carried out "in haste and without adequate preparation".

Panja, the minister for women and child development, also claimed that her name was figured on the voters' list in 2002 when the last SIR was conducted in the state, and asserted that the notice was served as she was marked "unmapped".

"My name was on the 2002 voter list. I have submitted all documents during the SIR process, yet my name is showing as unmapped. This is certainly not my fault. This (the notice) was my reward," she said.

The minister has been asked to appear for a SIR hearing on Sunday afternoon, sources said.

Panja said she would not seek any privileges as a minister during the process and is set to attend the hearing.

"It is clear that the SIR exercise is being done in a hurry and with a lack of preparedness. The hearing will be held in my constituency, so it may not take much time for me. But many people in Bengal are being harassed because of this," the minister said.

TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya also said that he and his family members had received the SIR notices.

"There were no shortcomings in the details we had submitted, and our names had also featured in the 2002 list," he claimed.

Bhattachrya, who is in charge of the TMC's IT cell, alleged that the "BJP was using an AI-based system to track social media activity and selectively targeted those who opposed the party".