West Bengal: CPI(M) Leader Mohammed Salim’s Son Alleges Surname Changed in Draft Voter List
Atish Aziz claims his surname was altered to ‘Awasthi’ during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, raising concerns over errors in the process.
Fresh controversy has emerged in West Bengal following the publication of the draft voter list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim’s son alleging serious irregularities in official records.
Atish Aziz, son of senior CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim, has claimed that his surname was wrongly changed from ‘Aziz’ to ‘Awasthi’ in the draft electoral roll published by the Election Commission. He alleged that the same Hindu surname was also added to his father’s name in the records.
In a social media post, Atish said he is a registered voter from the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency and that all official documents list his name as Atish Aziz. However, while verifying the draft voter list, he noticed that the surname ‘Awasthi’ had been added to his name, and a similar error appeared in his father’s entry as well.
Calling the issue serious, Atish said that if such a mistake could occur in the case of a family that has been active in public life for decades, it raises troubling questions about the difficulties ordinary voters might face. He also criticised claims made by sections of the media and the BJP that the SIR process would target Muslims.
“Instead of targeting Muslims, this process has added a Hindu surname and turned my father Mohammed Salim and me into Brahmins,” he wrote, sharing images of the draft voter list to support his claim.
He further said that CPI(M)’s Booth Level Agent (BLA) has raised the issue with the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and demanded immediate correction.
It may be noted that the draft electoral rolls were published on December 16 after the digitisation of enumeration forms as part of the first phase of the SIR process. Earlier, the draft list had already drawn criticism after a Trinamool Congress councillor was allegedly declared dead in the records.
Responding to the allegations, the Election Commission said the matter is being examined. “If any error has occurred from our side, it will be rectified,” the Commission stated.
Source: Qaumi Awaaz
