Kolkata, March 6: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday of incorrectly labeling several living voters as deceased during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
During her indefinite protest against the SIR, the Chief Minister stated, “Some of these voters are here with us today. The Commission should be ashamed for marking living voters as dead. But today, they are here to prove they are still alive. The Election Commission is acting as an agent for the BJP, which is itself a shameless political force.”
She further emphasized, “Remember, we are working. We have tracked all 22 voters who were reported as deceased. I also request the media to provide comprehensive coverage of these voters who are alive but listed as dead in the Commission’s records.”
Banerjee warned that the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal at the end of this year would be a farce unless genuine voters are allowed to cast their votes. Members of the Trinamool Congress, along with booth-level officers (BLOs) associated with the party, were also present at the protest site.
Interestingly, the protest location is just 1.5 kilometers away from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal.
The Chief Minister’s indefinite protest began just before the full bench of the ECI, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, is scheduled to visit Kolkata on March 8, with a busy agenda for the next two days.
The Trinamool Congress leadership has not indicated how long the protest will continue, but the size of the stage and available facilities suggest it may be prolonged.
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P.S.K.
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