KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday accused former chief minister Mamata Banerjee of being responsible for the deletion of 27 lakh names from the state's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, adding that neither the BJP nor the Election Commission (EC) could be held responsible.
“It’s not the responsibility of the BJP and the EC for deletions of 27 lakh voters in West Bengal. Responsibility lies with Mamata Banerjee because she had moved the Supreme Court, which had appointed judicial officers to monitor the exclusion process of adjudicated voters. The deletions were made following the apex court directive based on a petition filed by Mamata Banerjee,” the chief minister alleged.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Kolkata, Suvendu escalated his attacks on Banerjee and said, “Mamata could not admit the people’s mandate in the Bengal assembly elections. She has lost her party and symbol. We have won 208 constituencies and their both factions (Mamata's faction and the rebel camp) have 80 seats. Trinamool Congress has been washed out in the elections. SIR process is good in Kerala (now Keralam) and at the same why is it bad in Bengal?”
“Trinamool Congress itself had gone to the Supreme Court on the issue and now they are raising questions on the judicial process that was conducted following the court directives. It’s a very serious trend,” he said.
Spearheading his attack on the Left-Trinamool Congress political understanding over the CEC issue, Suvendu said, “It’s a love affair between CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress.”
“Trinamool Congress could not have been formed in 1998 if Atal Bihari Vajpayee didn’t give it a political shelter. Now, the party, which has been formed after fighting against the 34 year-long atrocities of the CPI(M), is joining hands with them to save its political existence,” he alleged.
His remarks came a day after Mamata, while addressing a meeting in Hooghly district on Saturday, sharpened her attack on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the SIR was being used to help the BJP capture Bengal and demanding fresh elections based on the pre-SIR voter list.
Mamata on Saturday also said she had no issue with the CPI(M) in national politics, particularly as Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc are set to meet in Delhi on September 30 to finalise their strategy on a move demanding the removal of CEC. She is also expected to attend the INDIA bloc meeting at Delhi's Constitution Club.
Notably, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby had called Banerjee and other leaders of the Opposition's INDIA bloc for a political understanding to intensify the demand for Kumar's removal as CEC.
Suvendu also referred to Saturday's meeting between CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, saying the meeting and a subsequent statement made clear that decisions relating to the SIR were not taken unilaterally by the CEC.
Showing a photograph released by the poll panel of the three commissioners sitting together, he said the meeting proved that the decisions had been taken collectively.
Notably, the EC said on Saturday that the June 24 order last year for a nationwide SIR, as well as subsequent schedules, had the unanimous approval of all three commissioners.
The clarification came amid a controversy triggered by a report in an English daily that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to various decisions and orders.
The EC also asserted that all SIR orders had received unanimous consent from all three commissioners and that changes to Form 6 for voter enrolment had been upheld by the Supreme Court, as the poll panel sought to address questions over decision-making in the commission and concerns about the exclusion of voters from the rolls.
The poll panel has said the adjudication process involved discrepancies identified in electoral rolls, while judicial officers ultimately ordered the deletion of 27.16 lakh names.
The Supreme Court subsequently directed the setting up of appellate tribunals to hear challenges against the deletions.
The political battle over the SIR is unfolding on two parallel tracks: legal and procedural questions surrounding electoral-roll revision, and political responsibility for the consequences of the exercise.