Amid Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti’s visit to West Bengal over the preparations for holding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the poll panel of threatening state government officials and acting like a “rubber stamp” of the BJP.
Warning the EC, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said Bengal “will not tolerate deletion of voters”, and accused the BJP-led government at the Centre for “using SIR to disenfranchise voters for its political benefit”.
“The SIR process itself is a fraud. It does not involve the public. Instead, a few officers are called for meetings and threatened, while the state government is completely excluded from these discussions. There are several complaints against the CEO of West Bengal (Manoj Agarwal), which I will reveal at the right time. But I hope he does not overreact. He has been threatening many officers,” the chief minister said at a press conference at the state secretariat, Nabanna, here.
Questioning the conduct of EC officials visiting the state, the chief minister said: “Assembly election dates are yet to be announced in Bengal. How can EC officials visiting the state summon government officers? How can officers be threatened? Four poll panel officials reportedly called BLROs and threatened them to prepare documents as per their instructions.”
Pointing to BJP MP and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur’s remarks in which he claimed that around 1.2 crore “illegal voters” could be removed from the state electoral rolls through the SIR, the TMC chief said: “How can a Union Minister declare that 1.2 crore voters will be removed? Does that mean plans are being made in the BJP office, and the Election Commission is merely a stamping approval? We expect impartiality from the Election Commission. Both the government and the Opposition together form the fabric of democracy. Above all, the pillars of democracy are the Constitution and the common people, and no one has the right to snatch away a citizen’s right to vote.”
“If genuine voters are removed, the people of Bengal will respond in a way no other state can. Don’t play with fire. We are Royal Bengal Tiger. Don’t injure us. An injured tiger is more dangerous,” she warned.
Hours later, state CEO Manoj Agarwal asserted that no valid voter’s name will be deleted from the electoral rolls during the SIR. “No valid voter’s name will be excluded. Whatever is stated in the law will be followed,” Agarwal said after attending a high-level meeting on voter list revision at Kolaghat in Purba Medinipur district, where a four-member central delegation, including Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, reviewed the preparations for the SIR.
“Those whose names were included in the 2002 SIR and who are government officials will not be required to submit any documents,” Agarwal said.
At Nabanna, the chief minister reiterated her charge that the exercise of SIR was the backdoor implementation of the controversial NRC (National Register of Citizens). “This is not SIR. This is backdoor NRC. We strongly condemn the BJP government and Central agencies working under its instructions, who are politicising and saffronising everything — from education to festivals. There is even a Mir Jafar (traitor) sitting in Delhi. They think they can control everything, but if they continue this way, the truth will come out – the cat will be out of the bag,” she said.
On SIR being concluded in poll-bound Bihar, Mamata added, “They (EC) were able to conduct it in Bihar because Bihar has a BJP-NDA government, and the agencies there helped in it. But Bengal’s community composition is completely different. Here, besides Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians, there are also SCs, STs, and other minority communities. NRC notices have already been sent to Rajbongshis, minority groups, and migrant workers.”
PTI adds: The EC on Thursday asked the poll officials to remain alert and carry out their duties following the rules without any fear or political threats, a senior official of the West Bengal CEO’s office said.
Bharti gave a clear message that all guidelines issued by the Commission must be strictly followed, failing which legal action will be taken.
“Today at the meeting, the EROs were clarified about their enquiries, and given suggestions. They were also asked to carry out their duties following the laws without any fear and not buckling under any political pressure or threat. All have been directed to work as a team,” the official told PTI.
On the implementation of the SIR in West Bengal, the official said that the dates for the commencement of the process would be decided by the EC and not by the state CEO.
Sources indicate that a formal notification is likely to be issued later this month.
“We believe that the poll officials in West Bengal are skilled enough to handle the SIR of electoral rolls here. That will hopefully make the rollout of SIR here better than in other states,” he said.
Responding to concerns regarding the safety of BLOs, Bharti stated that maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the state government, the source in the poll body said.
However, the poll body will continue its own surveillance and is closely monitoring every step of the process, he said.
The EC central team returned to Delhi after their two-day visit.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the poll panel of threatening state government officials and acting like a “rubber stamp” of the BJP. (PTI Photo) 
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