00:00Let's turn from there to the X Factor in West Bengal, SIR, the Special Intensive Review by the Election Commission
00:06that has triggered a huge controversy in the state with, remember, over 27 lakh people who still find their names
00:16deleted off the voter rolls, even though many of them claim they are legitimate Indian citizens.
00:22These include those from the famous Indian Chinese community in the historic Chinatown of Kolkata, who suddenly find their names
00:32omitted from the voter list after having voted in West Bengal for decades.
00:38From elderly pensioners to fourth generation citizens, those excluded now face a desperate scramble against time through digital tribunals trying
00:48to reclaim their right to vote and protect their essential benefits.
00:54Take a look at this report by my colleagues Tapas Sengupta and Anirbon Roy.
01:05Chinatown, part of Kolkata's rich cultural heritage, home to Indians of Chinese origin who have lived there for generations, is
01:13now under the shadow of the EC's Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roles.
01:18There is panic in the locality as deletions have triggered deep anxiety over identity and citizenship, and not all are
01:26keen to speak to the media.
01:27At a house near the Chinese Kali Temple, a worried resident mustered courage and shared her anguish.
01:34We are proud to be Indians, to live over here. We don't call ourselves as Chinese. We may be Chinese,
01:42but we don't.
01:44Because we are born here and brought up here and everything, yeah, from small childhood only. My parents also from
01:52childhood also.
01:53So we are proud to be in India, to call ourselves as Indian.
02:00For many, the deletions feel like a denial of belonging.
02:14We have visited the Chinatown, which is in Kolkata, where several Indian Chinese community people live here, but several peoples
02:28have lost their name from the SIR list.
02:31But they are saying that they are proud Indian and not Chinese.
02:37But still, they are in dilemma whether they will be able to vote in the upcoming Vidhan Sawa elections or
02:46not.
02:47Over 27 lakh people were omitted from the voter list after adjudication by judicial officers.
02:54They were given the option of filing appeals in tribunals set up on orders of the Supreme Court.
03:00The Apex court has asked the EC to include names cleared by the tribunal by April 21st for the first
03:06phase of voting and April 27th for the second phase.
03:10Among the lacks waiting for the decision by the tribunal is Manmata Nath Bhomik.
03:14The 87-year-old resident of Behala, who retired as a central government employee at the Port Trust, came from
03:22East Pakistan in the 50s.
03:24He had secured his citizenship certificate back then, which is now his most valued possession.
03:56He had secured his name from the country.
04:06In the Batrigaach village in Kuch, Bihar,
04:08Jaajima Bibi herds goats to survive.
04:12After her husband's death,
04:14she has relied on her old age pension to afford basic medication.
04:17She fears the deletion from the voter list will end the pension as well.
04:21Many members from her family are struck off the list.
04:37The tribunals in Kolkata so far have not conducted physical hearings.
04:42The judicial officers are scrutinizing over 34 lakh applications
04:46that have been filed online.
04:49With over 27 lakh names struck off in the final process of SIR,
04:53tribunal have been set up by election commission
04:56and this is the tribunal here in Kolkata
04:58where 19 judicial magistrates are rigorously scrutinizing the names
05:02which have already been struck off from the electoral rolls.
05:06However, there are many people who are still running from pillar to post
05:09to get our status update
05:11as many question that why the process have not been made
05:15as accessible for the very people it serves.
05:18With video journalist Tapos Bairi,
05:20this is Tapos Sengupto for India Today in Kolkata.
05:24What can I say?
05:25I hope the election commissioners of this country
05:28are watching stories like this.
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