Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee intensified her criticism of the Election Commission by urging CEC Gyanesh Kumar to stop the "arbitrary and flawed" SIR in the state. She warned that if it continues in its current form, "mass disenfranchisement" and a "strike at the foundations of democracy" could result.
In a strongly worded letter dated January 3, Banerjee accused the commission of presiding over an "unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc" process marked by "serious irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses".
She intensified her attack on the EC, alleging that the poll body reduced the process to a “farce”.
Banerjee asserted that the situation on the ground, instead of any corrective course being adopted, had only deteriorated further, despite her two earlier communications to the chief election commissioner (CEC), PTI reported.
"I am once again constrained to write to you in order to place on record my grave concern," Banerjee wrote, recalling that she had flagged similar issues in letters dated November 20 and December 2.
The CM said the "undue haste" with which the SIR was being carried out, "without adequate groundwork or preparation", had rendered the process "fundamentally flawed".
Calling the issues "illustrative and by no means exhaustive", she claimed, "These deficiencies demonstrate that the SIR process, as presently conducted, stands deeply compromised and strikes at the basic structural framework of our democracy." She warned that if corrective steps were not taken immediately, the "exercise must be halted" to prevent "irreparable damage" and "large-scale disenfranchisement".
She alleged that officials entrusted with the task had received no proper or uniform training, while the IT systems in use were "defective, unstable, and unreliable".
"The instructions issued from time to time are inconsistent and often contradictory," she wrote, alleging that the lack of clarity and planning at both the national and state levels had "reduced this vital democratic exercise to a farce" and "severely eroded public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process".
Even at the national level, the ECI appeared "uncertain about the precise objectives, modalities, and end goals" of the SIR, she claimed.
"Although the exercise is described as time-bound, there are no clearly defined, transparent, or uniformly applicable timelines," she said, pointing out that different states were following different criteria, with timelines being altered "arbitrarily".
The CM flagged the "shockingly informal" manner in which critical instructions were being issued. "Important directions are being issued almost on a daily basis, frequently through informal channels such as WhatsApp messages," she wrote, noting that no notifications, circulars or orders were being issued for an exercise of such constitutional significance.
Such informality, Banerjee warned, left "no scope for accuracy, transparency, or accountability" and carried the risk of "serious discrepancies, including the potential disenfranchisement of genuine electors".
The CM claimed that there were instances of "backend deletion of electors through the misuse of IT systems" without following due process and without the approval of electoral registration officers, the statutory authorities under the Representation of the People Act. "This raises serious questions as to who has authorised such actions and under what legal authority. The ECI must be held fully accountable for any illegal, arbitrary, or biased actions carried out under its supervision or direction," she said.
The letter also highlighted "selective and discriminatory documentary practices", noting that the Family Register, accepted as valid proof during the Bihar SIR, was now reportedly being rejected in West Bengal through informal communication, without any formal notification.
"Such selective and unexplained exclusion raises concerns of discrimination and arbitrariness," Banerjee said, alleging that permanent residence and domicile certificates issued by the state authorities were being "denied", while migrants were being compelled to appear for hearings despite being legally eligible to remain enrolled as electors.
This was "in total contrast" to practices followed in Bihar and other states, Banerjee said, adding, electors were being summoned for hearings without being informed of specific reasons, causing "needless anxiety and harassment".
"Even elderly and seriously ill citizens are not being spared," she wrote, adding that voters were being forced to travel 20-25 kilometres for hearings.
On December 16, the EC published the draft electoral roll after the first phase of the SIR, with the electorate dropping from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore following the deletion of over 58 lakh names. The second phase, which began on December 27, involves hearings of 1.67 crore electors under scrutiny, including 1.36 crore flagged for logical discrepancies and 31 lakh whose records lack mapping.
Banerjee alleged that observers and micro-observers were being appointed "in complete disregard" of panels sent by the state government. "The denial of BLAs during the hearing process raises serious questions about the fairness, transparency, and credibility of the SIR," she wrote.
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya dismissed the allegations, saying, "Only TMC and the state government are making too much noise about SIR. This only proves that it is serving its purpose of removing fake voters, and that has angered the TMC."