West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee slammed the BJP over the "deeply flawed" Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She met victims and alleged living people are being marked 'dead', calling the exercise a "reckless assault on democracy".
Banerjee slams 'deeply flawed' electoral roll revision
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), following a meeting with families allegedly victimised by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the State Assembly Elections 2026. Banerjee took to X to post, claiming that "deeply flawed SIR" is marking living people "dead", stating that the stories she heard were heartbreaking.
"Today, at Banga Bhawan in Delhi's Chanakyapuri, I met victims of the deeply flawed SIR process, families who have lost loved ones and citizens who, despite being alive, have been falsely marked 'dead' and erased from the electoral rolls. Their testimonies were heartbreaking. In a democracy, to inflict such suffering on the people is not just tragic; it is unconscionable," the post said.
Banerjee described the exercise as a "reckless and inhumane" assault on democracy that has selectively targeted the people of Bengal, claiming that many people, including senior citizens, migrant workers, and daily wage earners, have seen their lives thrown into "chaos" by the process.
Alleges misuse of power, constitutional institutions
A central point of Banerjee's grievance was the deployment of an "unprecedented number of micro-observers" in West Bengal. "Women, senior citizens, migrant workers, daily wage earners, and patients - entire lives have been thrown into chaos by this reckless and inhumane exercise. What is even more alarming is that, without any statutory authority and in violation of the Representation of the People Act, an unprecedented number of micro-observers have been deployed in Bengal to usurp the powers of EROs and AROs," she wrote on X.
She further alleged, "Rules are being rewritten mid-process, technologies misused, and procedures weaponised, all to selectively target Bengal and its people."
Alleging that the BJP, having "failed to win the trust of the people", is now using constitutional institutions to achieve what it cannot achieve democratically. The post said, "The BJP has failed to win the trust of the people. It has failed politically. And so it has chosen to hijack a constitutional institution to do what it cannot achieve democratically. But their conspiracies will only strengthen our resolve."
The Chief Minister concluded her post with a resolve to face this "assault on democracy", asserting that their fight is "to protect every citizen's right to vote, to defend Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution, and to uphold the sanctity of free and fair elections."
Confrontation with Election Commission
Earlier, Banerjee alleged that she was humiliated by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during their meeting on Monday. ECI sources said that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar responded to the queries of CM Mamata Banerjee, who led the party delegation to EC, and explained to them that the rule of law shall prevail in the SIR process and anybody taking law into their own hands shall be dealt with strictly as per rules.
Amid the row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the poll-bound West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee, along with Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, party MP Kalyan Banerjee, and others, met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on Monday.
The sources said that despite the polite posture of the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners, the Trinamool Congress leader "raised false allegations, misbehaved, thumped the table and left".
"The CEC responded to her queries and explained that the rule of law shall prevail and anybody taking the law into their own hands shall be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission," a source said.
Supreme Court intervenes in Tamil Nadu SIR process
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of India to publish the names of voters categorised under the "Logical Discrepancy" list during the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in Tamil Nadu. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant issued the directions while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the SIR process in Tamil Nadu on grounds of procedural irregularities.
The Court said that the names must be displayed at gram panchayat bhawans, taluka offices in every subdivision, and ward offices in urban areas. Those whose names appear on the list may submit documents within 10 days from the date of display, either personally or through authorised representatives. The list must also mention brief reasons for the discrepancies.
The Supreme Court further directed all district collectors to follow the Election Commission's instructions and deploy adequate personnel to ensure the smooth conduct of the SIR process. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)