Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday projected herself as the principal opponent of the “hasty” SIR being conducted by “BJP-minded” officials who were “targeting” Trinamool voters and “harassing” statutory poll officials in Bengal.
Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee by her side at a media conference in Delhi, Mamata paraded “victims” of the electoral roll-revision drive. These individuals — from around 90 families who either lost their kin during the SIR exercise or had their names deleted from the draft list — only replied in chorus to the questions Mamata asked.
Before the media conference at Banga Bhawan in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri, Mamata’s anthology of 26 poems titled SIR: 26 in ‘26 was distributed among the attendees.
In an apparent reference to the EC director-general, information technology, the chief minister said: “I do not know who she is, a BJP follower named Seema Khanna... only to misuse the AI... Without verifying their reality, they just deleted names without the ERO’s (electoral registration officer’s) signature. It is illegal. Neither are they taking the recommendation from the ERO nor working as per election rules, or the field survey... just 58 lakh names deleted from the (draft) list.”
She asked those wrongly marked dead to raise their hands. Several of the “victims” did.
Slamming the appointment of special micro observers from other states, Mamata said: “This (Bengal) is the only state where they are appointed.... It is against the election regulations, the statutory rules, that the roll observers.... BJP officers and 8,100 micro-observers, they are not listening to the DEO (district election officer), ERO or AERO. They have kept one separate login from where they are going to delete around 2 crore names.”
The EC has the constitutional power to appoint observers wherever it deems necessary.
Mamata had walked out of the EC headquarters on Monday, saying she had been humiliated. On Tuesday, she said: “Yesterday, he started shouting. I said don’t shout. We are not your bonded labour or servant.... We took flowers for them, sweets also.... And after how they behaved with us, we boycotted them.”
When The Telegraph asked who she was referring to, Mamata said: “Nobody talked to us (on Monday) except the CEC. The others are members of the commission. They cannot raise their voice.”
Accusing the EC of targeting Bengal, Mamata said: “Domicile certificate is allowed in all the states. Family register, government schemes, land certificates and other documents given by the government are allowed. But in Bengal, nothing is allowed. Why?”
Mamata evaded questions on any coordination with other parties on opposing the SIR. On the possibility of allying with the Congress, she said: “Trinamool always fights on its own in Bengal. Other parties fight against Trinamool.”
Addressing journalists, Abhishek said: “The EC will tell you that micro-observers are only being appointed to observe. I am saying this on record that if the ERO agrees with the micro-observers’ observation, your name is being automatically deleted. I have concrete proof and we will submit this before the court.”
Abhishek pointed out that despite the Supreme Court’s orders, the “logical discrepancies” lists had not yet been published. “The SC directed that two separate lists should be published —unmapped and logical discrepancies. Now, the EC has merged both so that BLOs and DEOs face more problems,” he added.