West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday blamed Mamata Banerjee for the deletion of 27 lakh names from the state's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying neither the BJP nor the Election Commission could be held responsible.
Adhikari claimed the deletions were carried out by judicial officers in accordance with directions of the Supreme Court in a case filed by Banerjee herself.
“The responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names lies with Mamata Banerjee, not the BJP or the Election Commission. Judicial officers took the decision following the Supreme Court's directions in a case filed by her,” he said at a press conference.
His remarks came amid a renewed political row over the SIR exercise, with the Trinamool Congress alleging that genuine voters had been excluded from the rolls and demanding their restoration.
Adhikari also accused Banerjee of refusing to accept the people's verdict, while questioning her opposition to the SIR exercise in West Bengal.
“If SIR is good in Kerala, why is it bad in West Bengal? We have won 208 seats, while the two sides (TMC and its allies) have 80. Mamata Banerjee is unable to accept the people's verdict,” he said.
The BJP leader's remarks came a day after Banerjee addressed a rally in Serampore and renewed her attack on the Election Commission and the BJP over the voter-roll revision.
Adhikari also referred to Saturday's meeting between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, saying the meeting and the poll panel's subsequent statement showed that decisions on the Bengal SIR were not taken by the CEC alone.
His comments came against the backdrop of an Indian Express report that the two election commissioners had raised objections on several occasions over decisions linked to the SIR exercise.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that differences during internal deliberations are normal and that its final decisions were unanimous.
(With inputs from PTI)