Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has firmly instructed all West Bengal district magistrates (DMs) not to remove genuine voters from electoral rolls.
During a high-level meeting at Nabanna on Thursday, she stressed that being “absent from home” cannot justify deleting a voter’s name.
DMs, who also act as district election officers, were told to ensure fairness and follow natural justice.
“Every person must get a fair chance to explain before any decision,” Banerjee said, according to senior officials at the meeting.
She raised concerns that names could be removed without proper verification.
Banerjee directed Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to visit homes again if voters were not found.
Each BLO should make at least two or three visits to confirm their status.
“People may be away for days or weeks. That doesn’t mean they’ve moved permanently,” she stated.
She also questioned why about 1,000 BLOs and supervisors had gone to Delhi for training without Nabanna being informed.
“I had no idea this happened,” she reportedly said.
The meeting came before the launch of the Amar Para, Amar Samadhan (My Neighbourhood, My Solution) scheme on August 2.
This project has a budget of ₹8,000 crore.
It will give ₹10 lakh per booth across more than 80,000 booths in the state.
The aim is to identify and address local issues raised by people.
Still, the top concern at Thursday’s meeting was keeping the voter rolls accurate and fair.
Banerjee urged DMs to ensure BLOs act impartially.
No voter should be removed because of bias or mistakes.
“Don’t delete names without reason,” she warned.
She demanded a transparent, voter-friendly verification process.
Her directive sends a strong message ahead of the civic and assembly elections.
Voter rights must be protected. Officials will be held accountable.
