West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday appeared before the Supreme Court and said that her state was being targeted using the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She alleged that the Election Commission wanted to "bulldoze" the people of Bengal.
Mamata is the first sitting CM to appear and argue before the top court.
The TMC supremo, accompanied by a team of her lawyers, including Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, started by thanking the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, for letting her make the submissions.
Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, the CM said, "Our lawyers fight for justice from the beginning, but when we don’t get justice, justice cries behind doors."
Stating that West Bengal has been denied justice, Mamata pointed out that she had written multiple letters to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, raising several issues with the SIR.
"I have written letters to the Election Commission including all details, but no reply. I am a bonded labour. I am a very less important person, I am from a common family, I am not fighting for my party," she said.
Mamata, who argued for about 20 minutes, also alleged that West Bengal was being targeted by the ECI "on the eve of the elections" and that the poll agency has not followed the SC directions regarding SIR in the state.
"They have targeted only Bengal on the eve of elections. Why, after 24 years, what was the hurry to do in two months what will take two years? When the festival season is there, when the harvest season is there, when people are in no mood to be in the city, they are troubling people issuing notices...Bengal is targeted. Sir, tell me,why not Assam? Why not North East?" she asked.
"More than 100 people have died. BLOs have died writing in letters, many are hospitalised. because of the harassment of ECI. Many are hospitalised," she added.
She further raised issues regarding micro-observers appointed by the ECI and claimed that 8000 such officials have been appointed from the BJP to delete names, superseding the powers of the BLOs.
"58 lakh people are deleted. Living people are declared dead. They are targeting Bengal, only for Bengal they have appointed micro-observers. They want to bulldoze the people of Bengal," she said.
Slamming the ECI as "WhatsApp Commission," she alleged that the poll agency was issuing orders through WhatsApp.
Opposing Mamata's submissions, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, said that the ECI had to appoint micro observers since there was non-cooperation from the part of the state government which refused to provide sufficient Group B officers for SIR work despite multiple reminders.
After hearing the submissions, the court issued notice to the Election Commission of India on Mamata's plea, and sought their response by February 9, when the case will be heard next.
The court also remarked that if the state government can provide a list of Group B officers who can be spared for the SIR duties, then micro-observers can be relieved from their duty.
"Probably once officers are made available, micro observers won't be required," the CJI said, also directing the ECI to tell its officers to be "sensitive" and not issue hearing notices over name-spelling mismatches.
During the course of the hearing, Advocate Divan, appearing for Mamata Banerjee, sought urgent directions from the court to halt the deletion of voters.
He submitted that only 11 days were left for the publishing of the final voter list and more than 1.36 crore people who were issued notices over "logical descripancies" were yet to be heard. He also claimed that over 50 per cent of the voters in the "logical descripancies" list were issued notices for minor spelling mismatches in their names.
(With inputs from Suchitra Kalyan Mohanty)