CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Mamata Banerjee (File photo)
NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, criticising the “procedural violations” and “administrative lapses” in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which is currently under way in the poll-bound state.Mamata Banerjee called the exercise “unplanned, arbitrary and adhoc” and urged the poll body chief to stop the SIR if glitches remain unattainted.”I am once again constrained to write to you in order to place on record my grave concern regarding the serious irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses being witnessed during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal,” she wrote in a letter. She also expressed apprehension about the large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters, which she said would be a “direct assault on the foundational principles of democratic governance”.”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. If allowed to continúe 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, ” she further wrote. In November last year, describing the ongoing SIR in West Bengal as “unplanned, chaotic, and dangerous,” Mamata Banerjee said that the situation had reached an “alarming stage” following the deaths of multiple booth-level officers (BLOs), including an anganwadi worker in Jalpaiguri.In a letter addressed to Gyanesh Kumar, Banerjee said she had “time and again flagged my serious concerns” but had now been “compelled to write” as the situation had deteriorated sharply.She wrote that the manner in which the EC had pushed the SIR onto officials and residents was “not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous”, alleging the absence of basic preparedness, clear communication, or adequate planning.According to her, the process has been “crippled from day one” by poor training, confusion over mandatory documentation, and the near impossibility of meeting voters during their work hours.She warned that the credibility of the voter roll itself was at risk, saying BLOs were being forced to work “far beyond human limits” while balancing their principal duties as teachers and frontline workers.Banerjee said most BLOs were struggling with online submissions because of server failures and repeated data mismatches, making it “almost certain” that accurate voter data could not be uploaded by the 4 December deadline. She added that many BLOs, under fear of punitive action, were being pushed to submit incorrect entries, “risking disenfranchisement of genuine voters”.
