The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday alleged that its concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were not heard during a pre-election consultation meeting with the full bench of the Election Commission of India in Kolkata, PTI reported.

The meeting was held at a hotel in New Town. It was attended by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, along with West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal. Representatives of several political parties participated in the discussion.

Chandrima Bhattacharya slams EC

After the meeting, state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the three-member TMC delegation was informed that the matter was already before the Supreme Court of India.

"I am a woman, and I was told 'don't shout'. Why should I not raise my voice when we are speaking about people's rights?" Bhattacharya told reporters.

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She added that the commission repeatedly stated that the issue of SIR was sub-judice whenever the party tried to raise concerns.

"Whenever we spoke about SIR, they said the matter is in the Supreme Court. If that is the case, why did they call us for the meeting? When they have invited us, they must listen to what we have to say," she said.

She added that approaching the Supreme Court was the party's responsibility to protect citizens' rights.

"Was it wrong for us to go to the Supreme Court? We did the right thing. Why should we not go?" Bhattacharya asked.

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Allegations about voter verification process

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who was part of the delegation, alleged that a "false perception" was being created about the presence of infiltrators in West Bengal, PTI reported.

When asked about the number of election phases the party wants, TMC leaders said the issue was not important. They said their primary concern was ensuring that genuine voters are not excluded from the electoral rolls.

Former West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, now a Rajya Sabha candidate of the TMC, was also part of the party's delegation at the meeting.