Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has filed a right to information (RTI) application with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s health department seeking information on birth certificates the civic body has issued in the last 30 days, the development coming at a time when the special intensive revision of electoral rolls is underway in the state.

“It has come to my knowledge that the KMC is indulging in illegal, immoral and unethical distribution of birth certificates; not meant for genuine citizens, but to facilitate and accommodate suspicious individuals who are at risk of being removed from the voters list during the ongoing special intensive revision exercise,” Suvendu alleged.

The BJP leader has also written to the city municipal commissioner seeking information on birth certificates issued by the civic body between 6 October and 5 November for both 2024 and 2025.

In his letter to the municipal commissioner Sumit Gupta, Suvendu asked: “Out of the birth certificates issued during 6 October 2025 and 5 November 2025, please mention the number that pertains to residents born before 2007. This information is crucial for scrutinising municipal operations and ensuring that public resources are utilised efficiently and equitably.”

Those born in 2007 will turn 18 this year and will be eligible to vote in the 2026 Assembly polls.

The SIR process has already started in the state with booth level officers (BLOs) appointed by the Election Commission going door to door with enumeration forms for existing voters and matching it with the list from 2002 when the last such exercise was conducted in the state.

Voters whose names or their parents’ names figure in the SIR rolls of 2002 are not required to submit any document. Children of the voters whose names are in the 2002 SIR roll will have to submit their Aadhaar card to establish the relationships.

The Election Commission has allowed 11 documents that can be submitted to prove citizenship. This includes identity cards issued by public sector companies, birth certificates, passports, matriculation or educational certificates issued by a recognised board or university, caste certificates and others.

Suvendu claimed a spurt in the number of birth certificates being issued and alleged it was an attempt to fudge the SIR process.

“This is nothing but a blatant attempt to manipulate electoral rolls and undermine the democratic process. Birth certificates are legal documents meant for citizens of our country; generally new-borns or in some extremely rare cases; people seeking genuine late registrations,” he said. “Birth certificates are not tools for political engineering, with the mala fide intention of changing the demography for vested political interests.”

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who received her enumeration form for the SIR process on Wednesday morning, has often questioned the documentation process arguing that many of her generation and even later did not have birth certificates.