West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has launched a sharp attack on the ECI over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling the exercise “votebandi” and urging the poll body to withdraw it immediately.
Speaking at a press conference in Siliguri, the TMC chief alleged that the voter list revision is being carried out selectively and in haste, particularly in opposition-ruled states. “Why is Assam, a BJP-ruled state, exempted from this? This is nothing but votebandi – like notebandi was for money, this is for votes,” Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister accused the Centre of using the ECI to harass ordinary citizens and undermine democratic rights. “They can send me to jail, they can cut my throat – but I will not stay silent while people’s right to vote is taken away,” she declared.
Banerjee claimed the SIR process is being implemented “without transparency” and warned that it could disenfranchise thousands of legitimate voters in West Bengal.
The remarks come amid growing tensions between the state government and the Election Commission over the conduct of the SIR exercise. The West Bengal administration has questioned the timing of the drive, saying it is being done ahead of key elections to “manipulate voter data.”
Meanwhile, the ECI has maintained that the SIR is part of a routine voter list verification process carried out across all states ahead of major polls.
Banerjee’s comments have reignited a political war of words in the state, with the opposition BJP accusing the TMC of spreading “falsehoods” and trying to politicise a standard electoral exercise.
