Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has voiced deep unease over the SIR process in West Bengal, warning that the exercise is being conducted with “undue haste” and may jeopardise democratic participation, particularly with the assembly elections approaching in a few months.
The 92-year-old economist, speaking to PTI during an interview from Boston, reflected on the democratic value of electoral roll revisions and the circumstances under which they can strengthen voting rights.
He stressed that such an exercise must be conducted with care and adequate time, conditions he believes are “missing” in Bengal’s case.
“A thorough review of electoral rolls done carefully with adequate time can be a good democratic procedure, but this is not what is happening in West Bengal at this time,” Sen said.
“The SIR is being done in a hurry, with inadequate time for people with voting rights to have sufficient opportunity to submit documents to vindicate their entitlement to vote in the coming assembly …​Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has voiced deep unease over the SIR process in West Bengal, warning that the exercise is being conducted with “undue haste” and may jeopardise democratic participation, particularly with the assembly elections approaching in a few months.
The 92-year-old economist, speaking to PTI during an interview from Boston, reflected on the democratic value of electoral roll revisions and the circumstances under which they can strengthen voting rights.
He stressed that such an exercise must be conducted with care and adequate time, conditions he believes are “missing” in Bengal’s case.
“A thorough review of electoral rolls done carefully with adequate time can be a good democratic procedure, but this is not what is happening in West Bengal at this time,” Sen said.
“The SIR is being done in a hurry, with inadequate time for people with voting rights to have sufficient opportunity to submit documents to vindicate their entitlement to vote in the coming assembly … ​Latest News [ SOBAN NEWS: International and National ]
