On Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, calling it a 'Tughlaqi Commission' run by a political party. She added that the Commission is "targeting ordinary people like terrorists," PTI reported.
What did Mamata Banerjee say?
The Chief Minister alleged that the deletion of voters' names happened on "instructions from the BJP" during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee went on to allege that AI was used for the deletion of the names of voters from the electoral rolls. She said that a "woman functionary in the BJP IT cell removed 58 lakh voters' names in Bengal using AI."
SIR hearings in West Bengal ended on February 14 after the Election Commission gave a seven-day extension. Banerjee went on to allege that the poll body was "defying" orders of the Supreme Court, and "targeting voters and undermining democracy." She added that the ECI is "snatching away democratic rights of voters," through the citations of logical discrepancies.
Mamata Banerjee vows to "protect" state government employees
Around 58 lakh names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls in West Bengal. They were marked as dead, permanently shifted, or untraceable. The poll body also summoned over 94.49 lakh people for hearings, citing logical discrepancies. Another 31.68 lakh voters were tagged as "unmapped" and asked to appear, PTI reported.
Also Read | Amit Shah to attend ISKCON Mayapur’s 152nd birth anniversary event; security tightened ahead of visit
Amid this, Mamata Banerjee claimed that 160 people died due to "SIR anxiety and work-related pressure" in the State.
She also sent a reassuring message to government staff. "If State Government employees are penalised by ECI, we will 100 per cent protect them", she said. "We will promote those Bengal Government officers who will be demoted by the EC," she added.
