In a press conference on Tuesday evening, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and called him a "liar", asking him to fetch the documents of the Prime Minister's parents.
She made the comment highlighting that a large number of citizens of the country don't possess any documents of their parents. She said, "If Atalji (Bihari Vajpayee) was alive today, would he have been able to give documents?"
She said she had never seen an Election Commissioner like this before and claimed the process was being manipulated to favour the BJP. During the protest, the TMC chief wore black outside the EC office to show her disapproval of the alleged deletions.
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'Authorities selectively implementing SIR'
She said the process should not have happened in states with upcoming elections without proper planning. She accused the authorities of selectively implementing it and claimed that the SIR was conducted in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu but not in Assam, where the BJP is in power.
She stated that nearly 58 lakh names had been removed in Bengal alone, calling the exercise mismatched and mismapped. The CM also criticised requirements like providing parents’ birth certificates, saying this documentation was unrealistic since many births in earlier decades occurred at home instead of in hospitals.
'No one can take away rights of the people of Bengal'
Banerjee was joined by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee as the party supported the families it claimed were affected by the SIR process.
The Chief Minister stated that no pressure, authority, or conspiracy could undermine the rights or dignity of Bengal’s people. She warned that her party would keep fighting against any action that takes away the voting rights of real voters.
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While mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee said authorities should first check if leaders themselves have such documents before asking them from ordinary citizens.
Mamata reaches Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is likely to hear a plea from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. She is challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state. Mamata Banerjee has already reached the Apex Court and will likely ask the Chief Justice of India for permission to argue the case in person. Her legal team has submitted an interim application seeking the court's approval for her to make submissions directly.
