Mamata Bnerjee (File-ANI)
NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the Election Commission (EC) of rushing through the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, terming the exercise “votebandi” and demanding its immediate suspension.Speaking to reporters in Siliguri, Banerjee likened the voter roll revision to demonetisation, alleging that the process was being conducted in haste ahead of elections.
“The BJP-led central government is harassing people in the name of SIR. Just like demonetisation was ‘notebandi’, SIR is ‘votebandi’. It is another form of super emergency,” she said. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief questioned the timing of the revision and claimed the EC could not complete the process “in two or three months”. “I do not understand the hurry in conducting SIR just before elections. The EC must immediately stop this exercise. The revision of electoral rolls cannot be completed in two or three months. It is being carried out forcibly,” she alleged. Banerjee also said she was willing to face any consequences for speaking out against the move. “The BJP can send me to jail or even cut my throat for speaking out against SIR, but do not curb the voting rights of people,” she asserted. During the interaction, the chief minister also renewed her criticism of the goods and services tax (GST), calling it a “blunder” that should be rolled back. “The central government is looting people in the name of GST,” Banerjee alleged. The EC’s special intensive revision aims to update voter rolls before the upcoming elections, but opposition parties, including TMC, have questioned both its timing and intent.