KOLKATA: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed that she will take legal action against the SIR process, a couple of days after she wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday, urging him to stop the SIR exercise.
“The Commission is operating based on sharing WhatsApp messages. I have no idea whether it has purchased the WhatsApp authorities but we won’t tolerate this practice of the Commission,” Mamata said.
She remarked while laying the foundation stone for a nearly 5-km-long bridge over the Muriganga River to connect Sagar Island, where the annual Gangasagar Mela is held.
“We will move the court against the SIR issue. We are going to the court to file a petition. I myself, on behalf of the people, would plead the apex court if it is necessary,” she said.
Notably, she has also done LLB course from a south Calcutta college under the University of Calcutta.
In her letter to the CEC on 3 January, she alleged, "Although the exercise is described as time-bound, there are no clearly defined, transparent, or uniformly applicable timelines. Different states are following different criteria, and timelines are being altered arbitrarily, reflecting a glaring lack of clarity, preparedness, and procedural understanding. Shockingly, critical instructions are being issued almost daily, frequently through informal channels such as WhatsApp messages and text messages,” the four-page letter stated.
“There is no proper written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders mandatory for an exercise of such magnitude and constitutional significance,” the letter added.
Today, she also alleged that people are succumbing to health issues or dying by suicide due to work pressure and anxiety triggered by the SIR.
Targeting the BJP, she said, “Don’t forget that Royal Bengal (we) is also here. We can hit back if you (BJP) bite us.”
The ruling Trinamool Congress led by the party supremo Mamata Banerjee has been accusing the BJP government at the Centre of being instrumental behind the ongoing SIR drive in Bengal.
Rubbishing Trinamool Congress allegations against BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, told reporters, “People of Bengal want to know about what did Mamata Banerjee do after her government moved the Supreme Court earlier opposing the SIR process. The process kick-started in the country since the day it was launched in Bihar also. Her allegations are baseless because the Commission has been conducting the exercise, taking care of all preparations and plans.”
“Her government was a party to the case filed in the Supreme Court against the SIR exercise in Bihar. All of us know about the apex court judgment in the case. Therefore, it is proved that Trinamool Congress’s allegations against the SIR issue are completely false,” Suvendu said.
Meanwhile, the Rs 1,670-crore Muriganga bridge, named the 'Gangasagar Setu', will provide all-weather road connectivity to Sagar Island, located at the confluence of the Hooghly River and the Bay of Bengal.
Lakhs of pilgrims from across the country visit the island in the South 24 Parganas district every year to take a dip at the confluence and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni temple on Makar Sankranti on January 14.