Agartala, Aug 8: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) organized a public meeting at Shakuntala Road in Agartala on Thursday, protesting against the alleged undemocratic removal of legitimate voters’ names from the electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The rally was held under the slogan demanding an end to the unjust exclusion of valid voters.
Prominent leaders including former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, CPIM State Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, and other senior leaders addressed the gathering. They strongly criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for misusing the revision process to manipulate the voter list.
In his address, Manik Sarkar accused the BJP of deliberately targeting voters who are known supporters of opposition parties. “This manipulation of the electoral roll is nothing but an attempt to destroy democratic rights. Many genuine voters are finding their names missing under the pretext of the revision exercise. This is not just negligence; it is a planned political move,” said Sarkar.
Jitendra Chaudhury echoed the sentiment, alleging that the BJP is using government machinery to influence electoral outcomes ahead of upcoming elections. “The SIR process has turned into a political weapon. We demand immediate action to restore the names of genuine voters who have been unfairly removed,” he said.
The CPIM leaders called upon the people to resist these undemocratic actions and urged the Election Commission to ensure transparency and fairness in the voter list revision process.
The rally drew a significant turnout from the local population, many of whom claimed they or their family members had been affected by the voter list exclusions. The party has also announced plans for more such public campaigns across the state in the coming days.
