NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote a fresh letter to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the Election Commission of ignoring two decades of statutory electoral corrections and forcing voters to re-establish their identity during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.In the letter, Banerjee alleged that the EC was disregarding corrections made over the last 20 years and compelling electors to resubmit documents, causing widespread hardship. She also flagged serious procedural lapses, including the failure to issue proper acknowledgements for documents submitted during the SIR exercise.
The chief minister claimed the revision process was fundamentally flawed and said errors had occurred during the digitisation of the 2002 voters’ list using artificial intelligence, which she said had resulted in distress and exclusion of genuine voters.This marks Banerjee’s latest escalation against the EC over the SIR exercise, which has been underway in West Bengal for more than two months.Two days earlier, the chief minister had made explosive allegations, claiming the revision drive had already resulted in 77 deaths. In her earlier letter to the CEC, she wrote, “It is shocking that an exercise which should have been constructive and productive has already seen 77 deaths with 4 attempts to suicide and 17 persons falling sick and necessitating hospitalisation.”Banerjee had accused the Election Commission of conducting the process without adequate planning, leading to fear, intimidation and excessive workload on field staff. “This is attributed to fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload due to unplanned exercise undertaken by ECI,” she wrote.She also alleged that ordinary citizens were being harassed due to an over-reliance on technical data without human judgment. “I am deeply shocked and disturbed by the manner in which the Election Commission of India (ECI) appears to be relentlessly harassing ordinary citizens during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR),” Banerjee said in the letter.Raising concerns over the absence of human intervention, she added, “The hearing process has become largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data and is completely devoid of the application of mind, sensitivity and human touch that are indispensable for an exercise of this nature one that directly forms the bedrock of our democracy and constitutional framework.”The chief minister also alleged a lack of social sensitivity, particularly towards women voters. “Women electors who have shifted to their matrimonial homes and changed their surnames after marriage are being questioned and summoned for hearings to prove their identity. This not only reflects a complete lack of social sensitivity but also constitutes a grave insult to women and genuine voters. Is this how a constitutional authority treats half of the electorate?” she wrote.Banerjee further said it was a “profound shame” that prominent personalities such as Amartya Sen, Joy Goswami and Mohammed Shami were allegedly asked to establish their credentials.Her earlier letter ended with a handwritten postscript stating, “Though I know you won’t reply or clarify. But it was my duty to inform you the details.”On Monday, Banerjee reiterated that she would move the Supreme Court over what she described as the “inhumane treatment” of citizens during the SIR exercise. The revision drive has triggered confusion among voters and extreme stress among field staff, with several Booth Level Officers reportedly dying due to health complications or suicide linked to increased workload.
