West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the BJP of plotting to remove the names of more than one crore voters from the state’s electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in a bid to influence the upcoming assembly elections.
"They (BJP) are planning to remove 1.3 crore voters' names from the electoral roll this time, but we will fight and not allow this to happen. I know this is a political battle," the chief minister said in an interview with Bengali television channel.
Banerjee also accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of threatening two senior officials to advance the party’s agenda. The Trinamool Congress supremo, however, did not identify any official by name.
"Two EC representatives in Bengal are also part of the conspiracy of Shah in not allowing people to vote. I have information that Amit Shah is calling up the officials almost every day and threatening them," she said.
Banerjee also alleged that under the guise of correcting “logical discrepancies” during the SIR exercise, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had removed the names of a large number of voters, including women, SC and ST members, Muslims and linguistic communities such as Biharis, who she said had been voting in the state for decades beyond 2002 -- the last time when SIR was conducted in West Bengal.
Describing the CEC as 'Vanish Kumar', for his alleged role in vanishing names of genuine voters from the list, Banerjee said he will become "Finish Kumar in the coming days," indicating that his tenure will end soon.
According to official data released on February 28, as many as 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted since the SIR process began in November last year, reducing the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
In addition, more than 60.06 lakh electors have been placed under the "under adjudication" category, meaning their eligibility will be determined through legal scrutiny in the coming weeks.
"From Muslims to migrants to women, SCs, STs, OBCs and Matuas," names of lakhs of citizens were omitted, the West Bengal CM claimed, and asked, "What does this point to?"
In the Darjeeling Hills, names of 50,000 Gorkhas were deleted, she claimed.
The TMC chief described Shah and Kumar as "anti-woman."
"Women after marriage change their ancestral addresses, and at times carry the surname of the in-laws. Doesn't the EC know this? Both Shah and Kumar showed their anti-woman attitude by including names of lakhs of such names under logical discrepancy," she said.
Banerjee said the supplementary lists, containing names of voters who are now under adjudication, are yet to come out.
The CM alleged that the list finalised by Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AERO) was tweaked and names were omitted in Delhi, and it was done by Shah.
"Many bowed down their heads in the face of the intimidation of Shah, but not everyone is the same. I have all the information, and we are not scared. We know how to fight," Banerjee said.
She claimed that the BJP has "fired three bullets -- the CAA, NRC and now the SIR -- on the people of the country and Bengal in particular. They want to divide people and pit one against the other."
