A delegation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) met with the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, alleging that approximately 40 deaths related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had occurred in West Bengal. TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien accused the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, of having “blood on his hands.”
The delegation, consisting of 10 members including Lok Sabha MPs Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal, Sajda Ahmed, and Rajya Sabha MPs Dola Sen, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale, and Prakash Chik Barik, raised serious concerns amid the ongoing SIR process in the state.
Following the meeting, O’Brien informed reporters that the party had posed five critical questions, none of which received a response from the CEC. “We started the meeting by stating that the CEC has blood on his hands. We raised five questions, and they went unanswered,” he said, noting that TMC representatives spoke for about 40 minutes before the CEC addressed the team for an hour without interruption.
Moitra stated that the delegation presented the CEC with a list of 40 individuals whose deaths they asserted were linked to the SIR exercise. However, the commission deemed these allegations unfounded, according to Moitra. “The CEC said these are merely allegations,” she added.
The TMC MPs also questioned the efficacy of the SIR, which they argued was purportedly designed to eliminate non-voters, and they raised concerns about why the process was not being implemented in northeastern states that share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar, which also face risks of illegal immigration.
In addition, the MPs sought clarification on how the electoral rolls, used in the last Lok Sabha elections, suddenly became “unreliable.” They demanded accountability for the alleged deaths associated with the SIR and expressed apprehensions regarding the process’s neutrality and effectiveness. They noted a recent amendment by the ECI that allows for the appointment of external Booth Level Agents (BLAs).
TMC representatives also conveyed that BJP leaders in West Bengal were claiming that one crore voters’ names would be removed from the rolls. “The ECI has taken no cognizance of these statements and has not countered the fearmongering by the BJP,” one TMC leader remarked.
A party source indicated that they had compiled a list of 60 tragedies attributed to the SIR, which included 41 civilians and 19 Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Of the civilians, 35 have died while six are currently receiving medical attention. Among the 19 BLOs, four have died, and 15 are hospitalized or in care.
The SIR is currently in progress across 12 states and Union territories, including West Bengal.
