KMC rebuts Suvendu Adhikari’s charge on birth certificates during SIR process

Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh on Thursday dismissed allegations made by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari that the civic body was illegally issuing birth certificates to influence the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.

Ghosh, who is also the Member-Mayor-In-Council (MMIC), Health, told the media that Adhikari’s claims were “baseless and misleading”, asserting that the KMC issues birth certificates strictly within the law. “It doesn’t matter who is residing where. If a birth took place in Kolkata within KMC’s jurisdiction, the civic body is authorised to issue a certificate.

Adhikari doesn’t seem to understand this basic rule. He will be provided with appropriate information to his query,” Ghosh said.

Adhikari, however, has filed a Right to Information (RTI) application with the KMC’s Health department, seeking details of all birth certificates issued over the past 30 days. He alleged that the civic body was “indulging in illegal, immoral and unethical distribution of birth certificates” to “facilitate suspicious individuals who may otherwise be removed from the voters list during the ongoing SIR exercise”.

The BJP leader has also written separately to Municipal Commissioner Sumit Gupta, requesting data on birth certificates issued between October 6 and November 5 for both 2024 and 2025, and asking how many of these were for individuals born before 2007.

Adhikari claimed there had been a sudden rise in the number of certificates being issued, terming it an attempt to “manipulate electoral rolls” and “undermine the democratic process.”

He said: “Birth certificates are meant for citizens—usually newborns or, in rare cases, for genuine late registrations. They cannot be misused as political tools for demographic engineering.”

The KMC has maintained that all records are duly verified and issued under the prescribed registration norms.