NEW DELHI — The West Bengal chapter of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) on Sunday organised a ‘Legal Awareness and Assistance’ workshop in Magrahat, South 24 Parganas, for voters whose names were deleted from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The programme witnessed an overwhelming response, with over 1,000 men, women, and senior citizens participating.
The purpose of the workshop was to sensitise affected voters to their constitutional rights and the remedies available to them, including the process for getting their names restored to the electoral roll, electoral laws and processes, etc. Ensuring that citizens have the right to information and assistance when necessary is critical to protecting their right to vote, too.
People attending the ‘Legal Awareness and Assistance’ workshop, organised by the West Bengal chapter of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) on Sunday, in Magrahat, South 24 Parganas.
Lawyers and volunteers from APCR met with the affected voters, who spoke about their grievances, fears, and difficulties due to the deletion of names from the electoral rolls. Many voters expressed anxiety about being denied their right to vote due to clerical errors and procedural hurdles.
The APCR team took affidavits from affected voters and briefly reviewed some of the documents and records to understand the kind of problems voters were facing and what legal/administrative remedies were available to them on a case-by-case basis.
APCR reminded everyone that voting is a fundamental right, and no citizen should be denied that right due to procedural issues or technicalities. The APCR will continue to assist affected voters by providing legal advice where necessary and monitoring the electoral roll revision process, a statement issued on Monday said.
