Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 30 : Indian sprinter and Olympian Dutee Chand has expressed concern over notices issued to prominent sportspersons under West Bengal's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, she said, "It is a welcome step that SIR is expelling non-Indian residents. But the athletes always play for the country, and they have made the country proud, and this notice is not right."
Chand's remarks come after former Indian footballer Mehtab Hossain, as well as former cricketers Jhulan Goswami, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, and Mohammad Shami, received summons from the Election Commission to appear for verification hearings. All of them complied with the summons and appeared for their respective hearings.
Hossain, who earned 33 international caps and represented top football clubs including East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, had earlier told ANI that he would comply with the notice scheduled for February 1. "They are calling everyone; celebrities bigger than me have been called. I will provide every document and proof which is needed for the process," he said.
The former midfielder suggested that the summons may stem from discrepancies in voter records. "My mother's name was present in the 2002 voter list, but our title is Hossain, and her name had Begum written because that was her real name. We have changed that to Noorjahan Begum Hossain. I think that's why I have been called," he explained. Hossain also highlighted the abrupt nature of the SIR exercise, stating that a phased approach over six to seven months would have been more effective given the state's large population.
The notices have drawn strong criticism from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which accused the BJP of targeting celebrated athletes through the SIR process. In a post on X, the party stated, "Sportspersons who wore India on their chest, carried the Tricolour across stadiums, and made the nation proud are now being dragged to SIR hearings to 'prove' who they are. This is the true depth of @BJP4India's paranoia."
The TMC further argued that the exercise amounts to harassment and questioned the motives behind the Election Commission's actions, describing the SIR process as being "enabled by a captured Election Commission."