KOLKATA: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Sunday once again slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI), terming its celebration of National Voters’ Day as a ‘tragic farce’ and asserting that it has no rights to celebrate the day.
Sharpening her attack, the CM said that the national poll panel is bulldozing the oppositions and destroying the foundation of the country’s democratic structure on ‘behalf of the BJP.”
In a social media post the ruling Trinamool Congress chief said, “The Election Commission of India is celebrating National Voters’ Day today, and what a tragic farce that is! The Commission -- working as His Master’s Voice-- is busy now in snatching away people’s voting rights, and they have the temerity to celebrate Voters’ Day! I am deeply distressed and disturbed by their conduct today.” Mamata also said, “The poll body is finding newer and newer pretexts in the name of logical discrepancy to harass the people and trying to deny them and take away from them their electoral rights!”
“On behalf of BJP, their Master, they are busy in bulldozing the Opposition and destroying the foundation of Indian democracy, and yet they have the guts to celebrate Voters’ Day!!” she wrote on X handle post.
The CM has been accusing the EC of holding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal in undue haste. She has already written five letters to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) since November last year urging him to stop the SIR exercise that has allegedly caused deaths of 126 people including Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and common citizens because of panic, stress and strains and workload in the state. Earlier in the day, the ruling party in the state took out protest rallies in several districts, demanding the inclusion of all legal voters in the electoral rolls.