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‘Chupa rustams are at work’: Mamata fears 1.2 cr voters’ names will be deleted in SIR
Asserts once again that she would not allow deletion of genuine voters' names
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed apprehension that nearly 1.2 crore names could be removed from the state’s voters’ list when the final electoral roll is released by the Election Commission by the end of this month, following the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Speaking at an event organised by the Jain community in her constituency Bhabanipur in south Kolkata, the TMC supremo alleged that names are being deleted from the electoral list even after the February 14 deadline.
“The SIR (exercise) is underway, and many people have been stripped of their right to vote. I am saddened. Initially, they removed 58 lakh names. Now, they are secretly removing more names using “logical discrepancy”— a rule that didn’t even exist before. It won’t just be 50 lakh names; it will be 80 lakh. Even if we assume that 20 lakh voters have died, nearly 1.2 crore people will still end up being removed from the voters’ list,” the chief minister said, noting that 58 lakh names were deleted from the roll in the first phase of the SIR.
During the meeting in Bhawanipur, Mamata also mentioned that she has moved the Supreme Court.
“Even after the deadline of February 14 has passed, following the Supreme Court’s order. What are these chupa rustams (hidden people) doing in secret? Names of 1.2 crore people might be removed,” she said.
“I personally went and fought in the Supreme Court. The petition is still pending. Many days have passed since the court’s order. I don’t know what will happen in the list which they (the EC) are set to publish on (February) 28th,” she added.
Asserting once again that she would not allow the deletion of the names of genuine voters from the electoral roll “under any circumstances”, she said, “I am on the side of humanity. It doesn’t matter who is TMC, who is BJP, or who is CPM… be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain, or Christian. I only want to ensure that the democracy of this country remains protected and that the rights of every citizen are upheld. I am against anyone being excluded from the voters’ list.”
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“Despite the Supreme Court’s order issued four to five days ago, nothing has happened so far. I say jio aur jiney do (live and let live),” Banerjee added.
The TMC supremo maintained that she was distraught with how people may feel if their names do not appear on the February 28 list.
“I pray for them in front of the Manastambha. Please do not allow the rights of the people to be taken away. If the rights of all legitimate voters are restored, I will return here to express my gratitude in front of this Manastambha,” the chief minister said, standing beforethe Jain stambha (pillar) she earlier inaugurated at the community temple in the area.
She also inaugurated the Sant Kutia Gurdwara Gate for the Sikhs in Kolkata and laid the foundation stone for a Minority Centre that will be built in New Town at a cost of Rs 28.77 crore, for which, she said, land has already been allotted.
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The projects also included a 100-bed mother and child hub at the Muslim pilgrimage site Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district, a rural hospital at Gosaba in the Sunderbans, a new fire brigade station in Tollygunge, Kolkata, 100 AC and 20 non-AC CNG buses to be run by the state transport department.
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