‘1.2 crore voters may be dropped’: Mamata Banerjee flags major concern over SIR list

Speaking at an event hosted by the Jain community in her assembly constituency Bhabanipur, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of allegedly removing voters’ names “secretly” and increasing the number of exclusions.

“I am deeply saddened that many people have lost their right to vote due to the SIR process. Initially, 58 lakh names were deleted. Subsequently, under the pretext of ‘logical discrepancies’, attempts are being made to delete more names from the voters’ list. Around 1 crore 20 lakh names might get removed,” the Chief Minister said.

She added that she had approached the Supreme Court of India over the issue and alleged that deletion efforts continued despite the court’s intervention.

“Even after the Supreme Court’s order, efforts to delete voters’ names are continuing in a stealthy manner. We do not know what kind of voters’ list will be published on February 28. Even after the deadline of February 14 had passed, attempts to delete names continued,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said.

The final electoral roll following the SIR is expected to be published on February 28.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court allowed the deployment of judicial officers from Odisha and Jharkhand to adjudicate claims and objections related to the revision exercise in West Bengal.

The apex court took the step citing an inadequate number of judicial officers in West Bengal to complete the revision process within the stipulated time frame.

It also permitted civil judges from senior and junior divisions with at least three years of experience, in addition to district judges, to assist in expediting the revision process.

Last week, in what it termed an “extraordinary order”, the Supreme Court directed the Calcutta High Court to appoint judicial officers to help complete the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state.

The court noted that the revision exercise had reached an impasse amid a prolonged standoff between the state government and the Election Commission, and said judicial officers would examine claims and objections arising from discrepancies identified during the process.