Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has in a letter to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar described the SIR drive in Bengal as a “farce” that threatens to disenfranchise genuine voters.
The four-page letter, dated January 3 and circulated to the media on Sunday, is the third time Mamata has written to Kumar since November 20 expressing her reservations about the exercise.
Mamata, who earlier flagged the “unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc manner” of the SIR, alleged that instead of corrective measures, the EC allowed the situation on the ground to worsen.
“The undue haste with which the SIR is being conducted, without adequate groundwork or preparation, has rendered the entire process fundamentally flawed. There has been no proper or uniform training of officials entrusted with this sensitive constitutional responsibility; the IT systems being used are defective, unstable, and unreliable; instructions issued from time to time are inconsistent and often contradictory; and there is a complete lack of clarity and planning,” she wrote.
“Collectively, these deficiencies have reduced this vital democratic exercise to a farce.... Even at the national level, the ECI appears uncertain about the precise objectives, modalities, and end goals of the SIR,” she wrote.
Mamata wrote it was “shocking” that critical instructions were being issued informally through WhatsApp and text messages instead of written notifications or circulars. “Such informality and arbitrariness leave no scope for accuracy, transparency, or accountability. Any error, ambiguity or uncertainty in this process can lead to serious discrepancies, including the potential disenfranchisement of genuine electors....”
Her letter followed a high-voltage confrontation in New Delhi on December 31, where Mamata’s nephew and MP Abhishek Banerjee accused CEC Kumar of “losing his temper” and “wagging his finger” at the Trinamool delegation he led for a meeting.
Mamata’s letter alleged backend removal of voters through the misuse of IT systems without statutory electoral registration officers in the know. “This raises serious questions as to who has authorised such actions,” she said, adding the EC must be held fully accountable for any illegal, arbitrary orbiased action.
She said the family register, accepted as a valid proof of identity in the Bihar SIR, was now purportedly not treated as a valid document without formal notification.
Mamata painted a grim picture of the ground reality, claiming that elderly and seriously ill citizens were being compelled to travel 20-25 kilometres for centralised hearings, while millions of voters had been flagged for "logical discrepancies" through what she called a secretive algorithm.
She also took aim at the appointment of micro-observers — mostly group B central government employees — whom she described as "acting well beyond their prescribed mandate". She asked why booth-level agents (BLAs) have been denied access during the hearing process, arguing that this struck at the basic structural framework of India's democracy and the spirit of the Constitution.
"... I strongly urge you to immediately address and rectify the glitches, address the flaws and make the necessary corrections, failing which this unplanned, arbitrary and adhoc exercise must be halted," wrote Mamata.
"If allowed to continue in its present form, it will result in irreparable damage, large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters, and a direct assault on the foundational principles of democratic governance."
A source in the CEO’s office in Calcutta said many in Bengal were submitting temporary domicile certificates issued by panchayats, municipalities or MPs and MLAs. On the family register, he said the women and child development and social welfare department had been asked if it was authentic but “no clear explanation has been received so far”.
“It has been informed that anganwadi workers prepare a list of mothers and their children in a register, but it does not mention the women’s background. The question remains whether it can be considered a document,” said the source.
Additional reporting by Pranesh Sarkar