Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conducting the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in an illegal, unconstitutional, and undemocratic manner, alleging that the exercise was being carried out in a “wrong and arbitrary” way.
Speaking to reporters at the Gangasagar helipad before flying back to Kolkata, Banerjee claimed that people who were alive were being shown as dead and elderly citizens were being summoned for hearings despite serious health conditions.
“The Commission is conducting the exercise wrongly. People who are alive are being shown as dead and elderly people are being called for hearings with oxygen pipes. The entire exercise has been turned into a farce,” she said.
Banerjee further alleged that voter data was being collected through an App purportedly developed by the BJP’s IT cell. “The BJP’s IT cell has created an App, and through that App, the Commission is collecting data. This is totally illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic,” she said.
The Chief Minister said she had written three letters to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, flagging irregularities in the SIR. She accused the BJP of influencing the process and alleged that voting rights were being taken away under the guise of an administrative revision.
On Monday, after Banerjee announced that Trinamool Congress would take legal recourse against the SIR, citing harassment of common people due to lack of preparation, her party MP Derek O’Brien moved the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday, alleging serious procedural lapses by the Election Commission during the SIR in West Bengal. According to the petition, more than 58 lakh names were removed from the draft electoral roll published on December 16, 2025.
The petition seeks extension of deadlines for claims and objections, postponement of publication of the final roll, a ban on instructions issued through informal channels such as WhatsApp, removal of the “logical discrepancy” category, and permission for Booth Level Agents to assist voters. It also seeks safeguards for migrant voters through virtual or proxy hearings and doorstep or digital verification for senior citizens.
Meanwhile, extending greetings to pilgrims at Gangasagar, Banerjee said adequate arrangements had been made for healthcare facilities, including hospitals, doctors, beds and ambulances, along with sufficient bus services.
She added that pilgrims could travel with a single ticket and that an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh had been arranged for everyone attending the fair. Banerjee also said the pilgrim tax imposed during the CPI(M) regime had been abolished and that she would visit the Gangasagar transit camp at Outram Ghat on Wednesday.