Senior Tripura Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman in an open threat to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) regarding any attempts to manipulate voter lists during the upcoming SIR electoral rolls said that anyone involved in such misconduct could be "beaten up publicly" if they attempted to alter the voter list under duress from the ruling party.
Addressing party members at a training session in Indranagar, Roy Barman said that while the Congress had no objections to the removal of deceased voters or foreign nationals from the electoral rolls, the inclusion of fake, duplicate, or ghost voters would be met with strong resistance.
"The Congress party does not object to the removal of names of deceased voters or foreign citizens, but any attempt to manipulate the rolls by adding fake or duplicate names will be strongly opposed," Roy Barman said.
"The Election Commission has a constitutional responsibility to ensure error-free electoral rolls, and we expect them to carry out this task without bias or pressure from any party."
Training programme disrupted by BJP allegedly, says Roy Barman
Later, Roy Barman told reporters that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly tried to disrupt the Congress party's training program for booth-level agents. According to Roy Barman, BJP supporters prevented event organizers from setting up loudspeakers, providing seating, and even erecting a stage for the training session.
"Despite these obstacles, we managed to go ahead with our training under the open sky," he remarked. "This shows the extent to which the ruling party is trying to undermine our democratic right to organize political programs." Roy Barman did not hold back in his criticism of Chief Minister Manik Saha, who he accused of allowing such disruptions to happen. He called on Saha to take appropriate action to ensure that opposition parties are given a fair opportunity to conduct their political activities.
"I hope that the 'leader of good governance' will take necessary steps to ensure that the Congress party gets a fair chance to organize its programs without interference," Roy Barman said, clearly frustrated with the situation.
The Congress MLA reiterated the Election Commission's role in ensuring the integrity of the electoral process, especially in states like Tripura, where close-knit communities make voter manipulation easier to spot. He urged Election Commission officials to remain impartial and not give in to any external pressure, particularly from the ruling party, to compromise the fairness of voter rolls.
"The integrity of the electoral process must be maintained at all costs. The Election Commission must work diligently to ensure that the rolls are accurate and transparent," Roy Barman asserted.
