New Delhi/Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a tense meeting with the Election Commission in Delhi on Monday over the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, with the Trinamool Congress chief accusing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of “insulting, disrespecting and humiliating”.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (File photo) (ANI)Wearing a black shawl as a sign of protest, Banerjee, along with party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, MP Kalyan Banerjee, and eight people affected by the SIR walked out of the meeting about an hour after the meeting began.
“We boycotted CEC and left. We were insulted, disrespected and humiliated. I have never seen such CEC. He is so arrogant. He treated us so badly. We met him to get justice. We never got justice. You are doing wrong. He is a big liar. All lies are rubbish.”
Banerjee targeted Kumar by comparing his behavior to former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. “Today you are acting on BJP’s orders. Dhankhar also acted the same. He was the governor of our state who always opposed us. We respected him. But there is a ‘Laxman Rekha’. Your fate will be the same as Dhankhar’s. You are not including voters in the voter list. You are erasing their names.”
“You can save your chair today. You cannot save it tomorrow (future). I have seen many CECs – SY Qureshi and TN Sheshan. They were very strong. They did not become parrots for any political party,” he added.
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The EC told the CEC delegation that the rule of law will be maintained and any form of intimidation, obstruction or interference in the work of the SIR will be dealt with strictly.
The commission has flagged alleged threats against election officials, vandalism of election registration officer premises, unauthorized transfer of voter list observers, failure to take action against officials accused of data security violations and delay in disbursement of honorarium to booth-level officials. ₹7,000 allowed ₹18,000 have been released so far.
“A TMC delegation led by Banerjee met the commission and raised some issues related to the ongoing SIR in WB… TMC MLAs are openly using abusive and threatening language against the commission and especially against the CEC. Threatening election officials as well. There have been cases of vandalism of ERO offices by TMC workers and MLAs. No pressure or obstruction by ex-officers should be allowed. SIR at work,” the poll panel said in a statement.
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SIR was launched in Bengal in November last year and 5.82 million names have appeared in the draft list, the lowest deletion percentage of 7.6% among states going to polls this summer. Among the 12 regions where the process is underway, Bengal has recorded the most protests and controversy, with the ruling TMC firmly opposed to SIR and naming opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) infiltration as a key voting plank.
Banerjee has written five letters to the CEC, convened review meetings with district administrations and directed party workers to help affected voters file claims and objections, warning that technical glitches and procedural errors could distort voter lists ahead of elections. The EC denied the allegations.
At least 100 families of TMC booth-level officials and voters who died by suicide or suffered cardiac arrest due to SIR and were declared dead despite being alive have been taken to Delhi. The family was a part of the eight TMC delegation that met the CEC.
Asked whether the TMC would boycott the assembly elections, Banerjee said, “We will never boycott the elections. I will never do this mistake. We will fight against it. They have captured the government at least six months before the assembly elections. They are not allowing the government to function. They are behaving as if President’s rule has been imposed in the state.” Bengal is being targeted.
In Kolkata, a 14-member BJP delegation led by Subvendu Adhikari met Governor CV Anand Bose and submitted a memorandum.
“TMC resorted to hooliganism at hearing centres. Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, a section of BLOs, EROs and EROs deliberately misrepresented names and ages of voters. Lakhs of people were called for hearings and harassed. We demand dismissal of government officials and FIRs filed against certain district election officers.” said
