Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she smelled a rat in the Election Commission of India’s Tuesday directives for the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll for Bihar and made no bones about her profound mistrust of both the saffron regime and the allegedly compromised poll panel under it.

The Bengal chief minister alleged the Bihar revision so near the scheduled October Assembly election there was an excuse to replicate the processes in Bengal in a bid to manipulate her state’s mandate next summer. The TMC chief also wondered if efforts were underway for a backdoor entry of the contentious citizenship matrix of the Narendra Modi government, especially the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

“Although they said Bihar, this will be applicable in other states too. This is very concerning,” said Mamata at Digha on Thursday.

“This is where I have a problem: “For those born between 1.7.1987 and 2.12.2004, a new declaration form must be submitted along with the parents’ birth certificates to enroll their names in the voters’ list”,” she added. “The EC says that parents’ birth certificates must be submitted. What is going on in the name of full enumeration? From what I have studied so far, there is a lot more to this… there are many irregularities....”

The EC on Tuesday ordered Bihar’s chief electoral officer to ensure all state voters submit their enumeration forms based on which the electoral roll would be updated ahead of the Assembly polls. Booth level officers (BLOs) will visit all homes of all voters, and check proofs of both places and dates of birth. Until now, while applying to become a voter, citizens only needed to submit proof of residence and date of birth — not place of birth. The BLOs will also give the enumeration form, which the voter has to fill up on the spot and hand it back. This SIR exercise began on Wednesday.

Bihar’s 7.73 crore voters have until July 26 to submit enumeration forms.

The move comes at a time when the BJP has alleged that many Bangladesh infiltrators have been enrolled as voters.

The proof of place of birth practically makes the voter registration a test of citizenship. So far, no guidelines have been issued on what is to be done for citizens without documents.

“How will poor people get such documents? Are they doing this to establish the NRC?.... You are targeting people born between 1987 and 2004, which means those aged between 21 and 37–38,” said Mamata.

“The Bihar (state government) will not act.... Whatever the BJP says, they will follow. They are actually targeting Bengal,” Mamata said.

The enumeration form has three age categories according to provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955. Those born in India before July 1, 1987 will have to submit proof of “date of birth and/or place of birth”. Those born between July 1, 1987, and December 12, 2004, will have to give the same for themselves as well as proofs for either parent. Those born after December 2, 2004 will have to provide proofs for themselves and both parents. “If a parent is not Indian, provide a copy of his/her valid passport & visa at the time of your birth,” the form states.

There are categories for those born outside India and naturalised citizens.

No information has been given in the form, nor has the EC responded to queries from this newspaper, on provisions for orphans or abandoned children who lack parents’ documents.

“The EC cannot do this unilaterally…. They cannot say the entire voter list will be restructured,” Mamata said, questioning the intent of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, appointed earlier this year.

“Every party has its booth-level agents and they (the commission) sought all their data.... Why should I share my internal data? I will not. The CEC might be aggrieved after my news conference but I do not mind…. The plan is alarming for democracy,” said Mamata.

“This current CEC was secretary to (Union home minister) Amit Shah in a department…,” she added.

Mamata separated Modi from this controversy, going after Shah instead.

“Modiji is the Prime Minister, I respect the chair. But the EC is linked to Amit Shah. He is running the country.... I am here to expose their plan… I want to make people alert,” she said. “I request other (non-BJP-ruled) states to bowl. We have already started batting.”

Other parties have also come down sharply on the SIR. Congress leader Pawan Khera said: "The proposed Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls carries a huge risk of wilful exclusion of voters using the power of the state machinery."

CPI-ML (Liberation) national general-secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya wrote to CEC Kumar on Wednesday, explaining that the 2003 voter list had some 5 crore voters, and voters added thereafter would have to furnish a whole range of identity proofs. "Electors not able... to furnish necessary documents... will be liable to be deleted from the electoral roll and hence deprived from their voting right,” wrote Bhattacharya.