Kolkata Voters Encounter Obstacles in Filing Tribunal Appeals
On Friday, numerous citizens in Kolkata arrived at government offices with the intention of submitting their tribunal appeals through offline channels. To their dismay, they were informed that the day was officially designated as a government holiday. Officials cited being occupied with various tasks related to the impending assembly elections as the reason for their unavailability.
Mounting Anxiety Over Filing Deadlines
Since March 24, supplementary lists have been consistently published. This has generated a new wave of apprehension among affected voters regarding their ability to submit appeals for tribunal consideration within the allocated timeframe. Each supplementary list explicitly states that excluded electors possess a 15-day window from the date of publication to lodge an appeal before the tribunal.
Between March 24 and April 2, a total of eight supplementary lists have been released. Despite the existence of an online filing option via the ECI NET platform, a significant portion of deleted voters across the city are relying on the offline method to present their cases to the tribunals.
Personal Accounts of Frustration
Dharmendra Singh, a deleted voter from south Kolkata, expressed his frustration: "I visited the Survey Building at Alipore today to file my tribunal appeal as instructed by officials. Initially, I was told the appeal work was unavailable due to the government holiday. To my knowledge, Election Commission work is supposed to proceed even on holidays. When I mentioned this, the official explained they were preoccupied with other election-related duties. I have been asked to return on Saturday."
Similar to Singh, several other struck-off voters highlighted that nearly a week has passed since their names were removed from the rolls. They now have only about one week remaining to complete the appeal filing process with the tribunal appellate authority.
Soma Das, another deleted elector, posed a critical question: "Who will be held accountable if I miss the deadline to appeal before the tribunal? This is my final opportunity to reclaim my voting rights."
Widespread Issues Across the City
Individuals from north Kolkata who visited the Jessop Building on Friday reported comparable experiences. Kusum Dubey, a deleted voter, shared: "The building was accessible, and some officials were present, but they claimed insufficient time to handle offline appeal work. One official suggested I complete the process online due to their involvement in other tasks. If online filing were feasible for me, I would not have undertaken the effort to visit the office. Nevertheless, the officials requested I come back on Monday."
The situation underscores a broader challenge as the election period intensifies, potentially jeopardizing voters' abilities to meet crucial deadlines for restoring their electoral status.
