Kolkata, Feb 17 (IANS) The seven Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), who had been suspended by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday on charges of dereliction of duty in relation to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, will not lose their jobs.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, told mediapersons on Tuesday afternoon, “They will not be related to any election-related duty. But they will be engaged in alternative areas by the state government. I am sure they will perform well there.”

Speaking on the occasion, she also accused the ECI of suspending the seven AEROs unilaterally. “They were not given any chance to present their side of the argument. The Commission is constantly threatening the electoral officers and also interfering with the jurisdiction of the state government. I request the commission to operate more democratically,” the Chief Minister said.

However, insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, clarified that the seven AEROs were suspended for genuine reasons for violating the ECI-prescribed guidelines for the SIR exercise.

“No one had been entrusted with any unbridled power. There were enough grounds for suspensions of the seven AEROs. They were suspended as per legal provision on charges of repeated dereliction of duty,” the CEO’s office insider said.

He also said that the observers and micro-observers engaged in the SIR exercise cautioned these seven AEROs not to violate ECI-prescribed guidelines. “But they continued operating in their own ways without adhering to the cautions. Finally, they had to be suspended,” the CEO’s office insider said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also accused the ECI of deleting names of genuine voters through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). She also indirectly accused ECI’s Director General (Information Technology), Seema Khanna, in the matter without directly naming her.

“A lady planted by the BJP in the Commission is using AI to delete names of genuine voters from the voters’ list. The Commission is not even following the directive of the Supreme Court in the matter,” the Chief Minister said.

She also said the documents that are accepted as authentic identity proofs in other states are not accepted in West Bengal. “They are doing everything differently in the case of West Bengal,” the Chief Minister said.

–IANS

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